Old Habits
by meggz106
Summary: After years of rejecting Jiraiya, Tsunade is now in a committed relationship with him. Due to all her work as the Hokage, Tsunade often rejects his invitations to go out with him. Feeling rejected and lonely, Jiraiya returns to his old perverted ways which causes tension between the two Sannin. Sequel to Even Hokages Cry
1. I'm Done

It has been nearly three months since Tsunade finally allowed herself to give in and give an intimate relationship with her longtime companion, Jiraiya a chance. Things have been going well for them. They shared a mutual understanding relationship fueled with love and compassion for each other. Almost every night they went out for dinner, lay in bed or just sat around and enjoyed each other's company. Ever since they became a couple, Jiraiya gave up his Habit of peeping on women for 'research' since he now had a woman in his life who provided him with enough research to publish many novels. Tsunade also limited her gambling and drinking habits since she was no longer as stressed with Jiraiya in her life. It seemed as if Tsunade was living in a perfect world. She lived a comfortable life in a fabulous mansion, enjoyed all the Hokage privileges and had a wonderful man in her life. There was no arguing between them or tension. But that was three months ago...

"Hello Master Jiraiya." Shizune said as she watched the white haired Sannin enter the doors of the Hokage mansion. She was just coming from Tsunade's office. There was a lot of work to be done today so she was busy delivering stacks of paperwork to Tsunade, collecting the completed ones and filing them into the appropriate cabinet, "Lady Tsunade is in her office but she is very busy."

"That's okay Shizune. Tsunade is never too busy for me." He said happily as he grasped the handle to the office door and proceeded to enter. Tsunade was seated at her desk reading and then signing various documents. She was so preoccupied by her work that she didn't care to look up to determine who her visitor was. A member of the Akatsuki could walk in at any moment and she would not know. Jiraiya went over to her and bent down to place a small kiss on her cheek but his actions were stopped by a feminine hand that formed a barrier between his lips and the soft skin of her cheek, "Aw come on Tsunade." He complained with a hint of disappointment in his voice while changing his bent over position to an upright one.

"Not now Jiraiya, I'm very busy." Tsunade said, still not looking up at her guest.

"You've been busy like this for quite some time now." He said while glancing down at the multiple documents that she had in front of her. There were mission requests from various villages, mission reports and Shinobi files among other documents. He then glanced over to his beautiful Hokage. She was in her usual attire but he noticed dark shadows under her eyes. They were not all that obvious but they were there. He could tell that she was stressed out and working off of numerous cups of strong coffee. She needed a break and he was willing to make that a reality for her, "I have an idea Tsunade," he started, "How about we go out for dinner tonight? We haven't been out like that in a while and you obviously need a break."

She glanced up at him for a moment. He genuinely cared about her well being but she just couldn't put all her work aside to go out with him, even if it were just for an hour, "I can't." She relied simply then signed her name on a document.

"Why not? You've been busy all day!"

"And I'm still busy. Jiraiya, I'm the Hokage, I can't just drop everything just to go out with you."

"But I'm your boyfriend Tsunade; you should at least try to make some time for us."

"Just because we're a couple doesn't mean that I must make time for us. I'll do so when it is appropriate and right now it isn't. I have my priorities straight Jiraiya, maybe you should try to follow suit."

"So our relationship isn't a priority for you?" He was starting to get angry now.

"I didn't say that idiot."

"But you implied it."

She could tell that this conversation was heading down a dangerous path. She could see that he was getting upset. It was evident by the tone of his voice and the developing redness of his skin, "Look Jiraiya, I'm in no mood nor do I have the time to engage in this conversation so I think it's best if you would just leave now." She said so desperately trying to avoid this argument.

"I can't believe that you place no significant value on our relationship! You know Tsunade, even the great Hokage makes time for the people that they care about. I know that if I were the Hokage I would as sure as hell make time for you!" He shouted before he stormed out in a fury. _'If she doesn't want to spend time with me I guess I'm just going to have to find some way to occupy my time.'_

Upon hearing the argument that just took place, Shizune made her way to Tsunade's office to check on her to see if she was okay. Just as she expected, Tsunade was still seated at her desk working on the documents before her. As usual she acted as if the conflict between her and Jiraiya didn't phase her but Shizune knew better. She knew that she just put on that 'I don't care' act to look strong, "Lady Tsunade, are you alright?" She asked.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" Tsunade replied.

"Well, you just had an argument with your boyfriend." Shizune pointed out as she settled a few more sheets of paper on the desk and collected the completed ones in her arms.

"So what? It wasn't anything major."

"I know it isn't in my place to get into your relationship but you haven't been out with Master Jiraiya in a long time. He's probably just feeling neglected. You know how men are, if they haven't gotten any attention in a while they're going to come and ask for some." Shizune has never been in a long term relationship before but she did know a lot about men. When she was a child growing up, Tsunade told her about men and their behaviors so she knew what she was talking about, "I think that you should just go out with him. I'll finish up here for you so don't worry about the work. You need a break anyway. Go have fun."

Shizune really was a loyal apprentice. She was like the daughter that Tsunade never had. Tsunade smiled and put the pen down, "Okay Shizune. I trust you enough to leave you to complete my work." She said as she rose to her feet then proceeded to walk towards the door. She paused for a moment before walking out the room and said, "Thank you Shizune."

* * *

After Jiraiya left the Hokage mansion he felt this sudden boredom overcome him. He felt the urge to go 'researching'. He hasn't been ever since he and Tsunade got together but for some reason he really wanted to go. Maybe it was because he was feeling neglected or maybe it was because he was just really bored. No matter the reason, he wanted to relapse and give in to his old habit so he did just that.

"Come on girls let's go to the hot springs!" A random civilian woman said to her group of friends following behind her as they walked through the streets of the leaf village.

Jiraiya's ears perked up and the old pervert that he hid away for three months emerged and he found himself trailing silently behind the group of women as they made their way over to the hot springs. The ladies entered and Jiraiya, who was still unknown to them, was left behind. He then started to climb up the wooden wall that separated him from the young women. When he made it to the top he could see into the women's bathing area and waited for the ladies to enter. After they undressed they went into the hot springs and Jiraiya went crazy. He saw everything that he wanted to see. In that moment he forgot all about his fight with Tsunade and just took in the sights.

"You can't be serious right now." These words caused Jiraiya to turn slowly around to face the person that caught him red handed in his perverted act. Much to his surprise he saw Tsunade standing before him with her hands folded over her chest and she was wearing an expression of total disgust, shock and hurt mixed into one disapproving look. Jiraiya didn't know what to say and he didn't know what to do. He couldn't possibly come up with a good enough excuse to get out of this one so he was basically a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He knew how much Tsunade hated his perversion so he knew that he had a beating reserved just for him.

"I turn my back for one second and I find you peeping on women!" She said as she charged at him and planted a deadly punch on him, one that sent him flying a couple of miles in the opposite direction. His body was sent crashing through the hot springs and ended up against a tree in an open field. Tsunade sped over to him sat on top of him and was ready to give him another blow until she stopped herself, "Am I not good enough for you Jiraiya?! Am I that ugly that you have to be looking at other women?!" She shouted with a hint of hurt in her voice. He hasn't peeped at another woman since they got together so she couldn't understand for the life of her why he would want to break that new trend and return to his old perverted ways.

"No Tsunade! You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen!" He defended.

"Then why would you want to look at other women?!" Tsunade grabbed the neckline of his shirt and brought his face closer to hers as she shouted at him.

"I, I don't know! It's just that I felt so neglected that I decided to research a little."

"That doesn't justify your actions idiot! I know we haven't had sex in a while but that gives you no right to go out and look at naked women! How do you think I feel about this? You know I hate perverts! I find them to be sick and disgusting! I bet you just want to forget this entire monogamy thing and have sex with all those women! I bet that would make you happy!" She let go of his shirt and rose to her feet

"That's not true Tsunade! But you never make any time for me! How do you think I feel about that? Sometimes I wonder if you even want to be with me!" He said while slowly getting up, dusting his shirt off in the process. He really got a harsh blow when Tsunade sent him flying into the tree. He thought he learned by now not to piss her off.

"What was I thinking?" She said quietly

"What?" He asked with confusion in his voice. He started to walk towards her to give her an apology hug but she stopped him in his tracks with her words.

"What was I thinking when I believed that this relationship could actually work?!" She shouted. Tears refusing to fall formed in her honey-colored eyes. It was silent for a while as the two Sannin stood there looking into each other's eyes, searching for an answer, "How could I have been so stupid?" She said.

"Don't say that Tsunade! We can work this out I know we can!" He pleaded as he grabbed hold of her shoulders with his hands, gently shaking her as if to shake some reasoning into her but she wouldn't have it. She pushed him away and he almost fell to the ground again but he regained his balance.

"This is just not going to work! You will always be an old perverted hermit! Nothing can change that! If you find it so hard to not look at women that simply means that I'm not good enough for you and if I'm not enough for you what are we trying to do here?"

That hurt him. He thought that she knew that she was the only one for him. He got angry and just said anything that came to mind just to hurt her like how she hurt him, "Well at least I'm not a coward! Instead of facing your fears you ran away from them! Guess what Tsunade, death is frequent in the life of a Shinobi so just get over it and move on!"

Tsunade slapped him across his face. There was a loud slapping noise when her hand made contact with his cheek. "You don't think I know that ass hole?! Go to hell! I'm done!" She shouted and then turned away from him and walked in the opposite direction.

"I'm done too! You're now looking at a free man!" He shouted after her but she didn't respond she just kept walking further and further away. She would not allow him to hear the shakiness of her voice or witness the silent tears rolling down her cheeks. She had too much pride for that.

* * *

**Tsunade's POV**

I can't believe that idiot had the audacity to peep at women behind my back. I thought he was done with his perverted ways but I was obviously wrong. I thought he was satisfied with just me and the relationship we shared but I was wrong about that as well. The idiot couldn't even justify his reason as to why he was being an egg-headed pervert. He was in the wrong so he should have just apologized but instead he tried to butter me up by calling me the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. Of course I did not entertain that. I continued to argue and I said some mean things but then he went so low as to call me a coward for leaving the village after Dan and Nawaki died. What a jerk. I slapped him across his face and broke up with him right then and there. I should have been happy to finally get rid of that loser but instead unwanted tears ran down my face. I have no idea why I was crying but I was just happy that the little pervert didn't see.

After my argument and break up with Jiraiya I decided to go home and drag Shizune to go out for drinks with me. I haven't had the urge to get drunk for three months now but since I just broke up with the little idiot I didn't care about my sobriety anymore. When I entered the walls of the Hokage mansion I was greeted by all my guards and assistants but I didn't say a word to any of them. That is a fault of mine. Whenever I'm upset I tend to take my problems out on people by ignoring them or shouting at them. That is something I need to change about myself. I walked into my office and saw my loyal assistant finishing up my left over work at my desk. She was so busy that she didn't notice when I entered but my faithful pet pig Ton-Ton greeted me as I entered. My office was not in the condition that I left it in. It was clean and all the scattered papers that were left on the ground were stacked into a neat pile that sat in a corner of the office. So not only was Shizune doing my work but she also cleaned the place. Shizune was truly special to me since I practically raised her and taught her everything she knows. She's like the daughter I never had and she is one of the three people that I trust whole-heatedly. Unfortunately one of those three is Jiraiya.

I approached the desk and cleared my throat in order for Shizune to acknowledge my presence. She looked up at me with curiosity brewing in her onyx eyes, "Lady Tsunade what are you dong back here so early?" She asked, "Didn't you go out with Master Jiraiya?"

"Change of plans Shizune." I said while walking towards her and holding both of her hands with mine in an attempt to get her out of the chair. She wasn't at all heavy so it was very easy to get her on her feet. After I got her to stand I took the pen out of her right hand and placed it on the desk, "We're going out for drinks."

"You mean you and me?" She asked with confusion evident in her tone.

"That's correct." I said while gathering Ton-Ton in my arms and placing her in Shizune's.

"But Lady Tsunade, I thought you stopped drinking this late at night!" Shizune exclaimed. Out of all the people in the village, Shizune was the main person who tried to get me to kick my habit of drinking and gambling. She succeeded to an extent since I only limited my addictions instead of getting rid of them completely. I could tell it hurt her to see that I was revisiting my old ways but I couldn't help myself at that moment. I was too upset with that idiot, "And I don't even drink Lady Tsunade!"

I grabbed her free hand and lead her out the door and we walked in the direction of the local bar, "You don't have to drink, just order some of those sweet dumplings that you seem to like so much and watch Ton-Ton."

"So why don't you go drink with Master Jiraiya?" She asked. She didn't know about our break up so in her mind everything was perfect in my relationship.

"I don't want to go anywhere with that baboon again for as long as I live." I stated.

"What?!" She shouted and caused Ton-Ton to squirm a little, "What happened?"

"Nothing." I replied. Shizune was lagging behind so I grabbed her hand a little tighter, increased my pace and dragged her along with me, "Come on Shizune move your ass, the sake is waiting on me!"

Shizune did her signature scream that indicated that she was apprehensive, in shock or scared. It was loud and annoying, quite comical if you ask me but that scream is what makes Shizune, Shizune.

We finally arrived at the bar and before entering I looked up at the sign over the entrance door that had the words 'Cheap Sake' written on it. My lips formed into a devious smile that did not go unnoticed by Shizune. She screamed once again, "Aiyeee! Lady Tsunade please tell me that you aren't going to go overboard!"

"No promises." I said and then entered with Shizune unwillingly following behind. We were seated at a table in the back and a waiter came up to us to take our order. He was a young civilian man with a light skin tone and dark brown hair. He readily noticed who I was and a smile graced his face.

"What would you like today Lady Hokage?" He asked respectfully.

"A round of sake and keep them coming." I said happily, "Shizune here will have," I started while looking at her, urging her to place her order.

"I'll have the sweet dumplings and Ton-Ton will have a bowl of rice." She said. I had no idea why she liked those disgusting sweet dumplings. They repulsed me and made me gag.

"Right away." The young man said before leaving to place our order.

"You know Shizune, maybe you should try the sake. It'll loosen you up!" I said while grabbing hold of her tiny shoulders and shaking her in an attempt to get her to relax. As a twenty eight year old woman, she has never in her life indulged herself in alcohol.

"No thank you Lady Tsunade. I'm fine with just my dumplings." She replied. I let go of my grip on her, clasped my hands and rested them on the wooden table. Shizune was truly an innocent soul.

After a few minutes of waiting and idle conversation, our order arrived. I immediately began to drown all my problems in sake while Shizune gracefully munched on her gross dumplings. After five swings of alcohol, I could feel my reflexes slow, my voice slur and a pink tint rise to my cheeks. Shizune looked at me with concern and I could tell that she longed to know the reason why I was with her instead of Jiraiya. After a few more drinks, I was officially drunk. I started to talk about random foolishness and laugh uncontrollably about nothing in particular. I got quiet for a moment when I thought about Jiraiya and the fact that we were no longer a couple. I then started to spill everything about our break up to Shizune, "That ass hole!" I started then Shizune looked at me with wide eyes, awaiting the story that was to come, "For three months he stopped being a little pervert, for three months! Just because I refused to go out with him he peeps at a bunch of naked women in the freaking hot springs. That horny bastard! Then he has the nerve to call me a coward because I left the village after the death of Dan and Nawaki. He said that death is a part of the life of a Shinobi as if I don't already know that! He knows how much I hate perverts!" I stopped for a second to take another shot of sake. It burned as it went down but that burning sensation was nothing compared to the pain that Jiraiya brought upon me tonight. I whipped my mouth, ridding it of tiny droplets of sake and continued, "I can't believe I allowed those grubby hands to touch me."

"You don't mean that Lady Tsunade." Shizune said. She sympathized with me by putting a gentle reassuring hand on my shoulder.

"It doesn't matter if I mean it or not anyway." I said before taking another drink of sake, "We broke up."

"What? Lady Tsunade I'm sure that you and master Jiraiya can work this out! Don't just jump into anything. Can't you just talk to him?" Shizune said before she noticed that I was passed out, face down on the table due to excessive drinking, "Lady Tsunade?!" At first she didn't know that I was just knocked out. She moved my bangs that were covering my face and noticed that I was still alive and well. She let out a sigh of relief, "Ton-Ton stay here with Lady Tsunade while I find help." She needed to get me out of there and in a warm bed. It wasn't good for people to see their Hokage in a drunken coma. Luckily nobody noticed yet. Shizune hurriedly left the bar in search of somebody who could help her carry me home. I was definitely going to have the world's worst hangover in the morning.

Shizune came back a few minutes later with one of my other assistants, Genma beside her. He carried me bridal style out of the bar. People were wondering what was wrong with me but Shizune lied and told them that I was so exhausted from performing all my Hokage duties that I fell asleep right in the bar. After that explanation they commented saying things like, "Our Hokage is so thoughtful, working so hard for all of us." "the poor thing needs to get more rest." "Lady Tsunade is so wonderful!" Little did they know that I was just a drunk.

When we finally arrived at the mansion, Shizune opened the door to my bedroom and Genma placed me gently on my bed. Shizune thanked him and he left. She then covered me with a warm blanket and exited the room, closing the door behind her.

* * *

**Jiraiya's POV**

How did my perfect second chance at life get so messed up so quickly? The first three months were great but since our relationship isn't new anymore, the sparks are gone and it's business as usual. She doesn't want to go out with me and sometimes I wonder if she wants to be with me at all.

I admit that I said some hurtful things to her but she said some mean stuff too. Not to mention she left me with bruises and I'm sure a few broken bones. And that slap across the face, I can still feel the stinging sensation and I'm pretty sure the swelling and redness have not gone yet. She broke up with me, so be it. I don't need her anyway.

I decided to go out and meet a few lovely ladies in order to get my mind off of Tsunade. I was a free man after all so there was no crime in having a few drinks accompanied by a beautiful young woman. I entered one of the adult bars and was immediately greeted by an escort. I can't remember the last time I graced a place like this with my presence. The young woman was shorter than me but not too short, had crystal clear blue eyes and light brown hair that was at shoulder length. She was wearing a long pink dress that had a dangerously high slit on the side revealing her smooth hairless leg, the dress hugged her body showing off her hour glass figure and the v-neck of the dress cut low revealing her bountiful cleavage.

"Hey Mister I'm Misuzu, what's your name?" She said suggestively as she tugged my shirt a little and rubbed her nose on my neck. She smelled of lavender, an unfamiliar smell to me since Tsunade always smelled like vanilla essence and a hint of coconut.

"You can call me Jiraiya, Misuzu!" I said while on the verge of a nosebleed.

"We'll Jiraiya, want me to show you a good time?" She said as she put her pointing finger to her chin and had a puppy dog look on her face.

"Of course honey!" She then grabbed my hand with her small soft one and led me over to her booth where bottles of sake were waiting for us. She seated me and sat extremely close to me making sure that her leg was revealed. She played with my hair and whispered suggestive things in my ear. The booth was lit by a dim candle so the mood was very romantic. I would be lying if I said I wasn't aroused.

"So what brings you here Jiraiya? Feeling a bit lonely?" Misuzu said as she twirled a lock of my spiky hair around her finger.

I placed my hand on her thigh and rubbed it gently, I couldn't help myself, "Nothing really, just felt like spending some time with a beautiful woman such as yourself."

"Oh stop it Jiraiya, you're making me blush!" She laughed and then took a drink of sake before continuing, "it's getting quite boring down here don't you think?"

I nodded.

"Come on Mister, let's go upstairs and get to know each other a little better." She winked as she got out of the booth and grabbed my hand leading me upstairs. Once on the second floor of the building, Misuzu opened the door to a small room that housed a double bed, a little side table and some dusty curtains that were draped over a small window. The room was quite dark since only a small lantern was lit. She closed the door behind her and began to shed her clothing. She slipped out of her dress and was left only in her bra, underwear and high heels. She looked amazing but I have seen better from a certain Hokage. She walked over to me and devoured my lips in a deep kiss. I didn't kiss back though and she noticed, "What's wrong Mister? Don't you like what you see? Perhaps I should take off more." She whispered in my ear as she reached up to free her breasts from the confinement of her bra. She took it off and grabbed my hand once again and placed it on one of her breasts. I stared down at where my hand was and felt nothing, no lust, no joy, nothing. My hand was stationary there, "Don't you know what to do Jiraiya?" She asked confused, "I thought you were an experienced man."

This felt wrong. Despite the pain she caused me, I couldn't stop thinking about Tsunade. She was the best woman I have ever been with and the only one I truly loved. "I'm sorry Misuzu. This is not what I want." I removed my hand and walked out the door leaving a half naked beautiful young woman all alone in a dark room.

I just couldn't bring myself to making love to another woman but Tsunade. I still loved her and I felt as if I would be unfaithful to her if I have done what Misuzu wanted me to do. Even though we were not together anymore, I know for sure that Tsunade is the only woman for me. I had to find some way to make up with Tsunade but knowing her and how stubborn she can be, it will definitely not be an easy task.

**I'm back! I hope you all enjoyed this extremely long chapter. Once I started writing I couldn't stop. If anyone reading this did not read 'Even Hokages Cry', I recommend that you do since this is the sequel to it. As usual, thank you for reading and remember to review.**


	2. Escort

Tsunade woke up to the world's worst handover, just as she predicted. Her head was throbbing, she felt extremely nauseas and it was as if the room she was in was spinning uncontrollably like a malfunctioning carousel. The Hokage slowly sat up in her bed, holding the side of her head as if it could ease the pain she felt. She fluttered her amber eyes open and realized that she was in her bedroom but had no idea how she ended up in there. She closed her eyes and tried to remember what happened last night.

_"I turn my back for one second and I find you peeping on women!" She said as she charged at him and planted a deadly punch on him, one that sent him flying a couple of miles in the opposite direction. His body was sent crashing through the hot springs and ended up against a tree in an open field. Tsunade sped over to him sat on top of him and was ready to give him another blow until she stopped herself, "Am I not good enough for you Jiraiya?! Am I that ugly that you have to be looking at other women?!" She shouted with a hint of hurt in her voice. He hasn't peeped at another woman since they got together so she couldn't understand for the life of her why he would want to break that new trend and return to his old perverted ways._

_"No Tsunade! You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen!" He defended._

_"Then why would you want to look at other women?!" Tsunade grabbed the neckline of his shirt and brought his face closer to hers as she shouted at him._

_"I, I don't know! It's just that I felt so neglected that I decided to research a little."_

_"That doesn't justify your actions idiot! I know we haven't had sex in a while but that gives you no right to go out and look at naked women! How do you think I feel about this? You know I hate perverts! I find them to be sick and disgusting! I bet you just want to forget this entire monogamy thing and have sex with all those women! I bet that would make you happy!" She let go of his shirt and rose to her feet_

_"That's not true Tsunade! But you never make any time for me! How do you think I feel about that? Sometimes I wonder if you even want to be with me!" He said while slowly getting up, dusting his shirt off in the process. He really got a harsh blow when Tsunade sent him flying into the tree. He thought he learned by now not to piss her off._

_"What was I thinking?" She said quietly_

_"What?" He asked with confusion in his voice. He started to walk towards her to give her an apology hug but she stopped him in his tracks with her words._

_"What was I thinking when I believed that this relationship could actually work?!" She shouted. Tears refusing to fall formed in her honey-colored eyes. It was silent for a while as the two Sannin stood there looking into each other's eyes, searching for an answer, "How could I have been so stupid?" She said._

_"Don't say that Tsunade! We can work this out I know we can!" He pleaded as he grabbed hold of her shoulders with his hands, gently shaking her as if to shake some reasoning into her but she wouldn't have it. She pushed him away and he almost fell to the ground again but he regained his balance._

_"This is just not going to work! You will always be an old perverted hermit! Nothing can change that! If you find it so hard to not look at women that simply means that I'm not good enough for you and if I'm not enough for you what are we trying to do here?"_

_That hurt him. He thought that she knew that she was the only one for him. He got angry and just said anything that came to mind just to hurt her like how she hurt him, "Well at least I'm not a coward! Instead of facing your fears you ran away from them! Guess what Tsunade, death is frequent in the life of a Shinobi so just get over it and move on!" _

_Tsunade slapped him across his face. There was a loud slapping noise when her hand made contact with his cheek. "You don't think I know that ass hole?! Go to hell! I'm done!" She shouted and then turned away from him and walked in the opposite direction._

_"I'm done too! You're now looking at a free man!" He shouted after her but she didn't respond she just kept walking further and further away. She would not allow him to hear the shakiness of her voice or witness the silent tears rolling down her cheeks. She had too much pride for that. _

After recalling the events from last night, Tsunade felt angry and hurt. She was so upset that she wanted to punch a wall and destroy it in the process but since she felt so terrible she decided against it, "That ass hole." She muttered under her breath.

Tsunade saw her bedroom door swing open and her apprentice Shizune walked in, humming a cheerful melody and carrying a tray of medicine, a glass of water and a steaming hot cup of coffee, "Good morning Lady Tsunade!" Shizune said cheerfully then set down the tray on the side table. After doing so she walked over to the window and drew open the curtains that kept the light out, allowing the sunlight to beam into Tsunade's dim, gloomy room. Tsunade hated how cheerful Shizune could be at times. Here she was feeling like the living dead and Shizune was busy spreading joy all over the place in an attempt to get her master in a good mood, "How are you feeling today?"

Tsunade looked at her in utter disbelief. How could she be possibly asking her how she was feeling? Shizune was there when Tsunade passed out due to all her drinking so she out of all people should know exactly how she felt, "I'm not even going to answer that question Shizune." Tsunade said while shooting her a deadly glare.

Shizune laughed nervously, "Sorry for asking." She said while rubbing the back of her head with a shaky hand, "I brought you some medicine for your hangover and some coffee. I knew that you wouldn't be in the mood for food so I didn't bother with breakfast." She said while pointing to the tray. She then walked over to the tray and handed Tsunade a few pills and the glass of water to wash them down. There was a pill for her headache and another for her nausea. Shizune knew exactly what to give her master when she had hangovers since they were ever so frequent when they moved from town to town a while back.

"Thanks Shizune." Tsunade said while accepting the medication. Before she could consume them, she felt a wave of nausea overcome her so she handed the pills back to Shizune and ran quickly to the bathroom. Shizune put the pills back on the tray and followed behind Tsunade. The Hokage kneeled in front of the toilet and Shizune held her blonde hair to prevent it from getting caught in the mess that was to come. Tsunade emptied the contents of her stomach then reached for a piece of toilet paper from the nearby roll, wiped her mouth to rid it of the gross mess that was present on her lips and discarded the tissue in the toilet then flushed it. Shizune let go of her master's hair, allowing it to fall back into place and helped her to her feet by holding her upper arm and hand. Tsunade then made her way over to her sink to wash her face and brush her teeth. Seeing that Tsunade was okay for now, Shizune left the bathroom to give her the privacy that she needed. After washing up, Tsunade decided to take a quick, cold shower in hopes of it rejuvenating her and providing her with the energy she needed to get through the day. She discarded her clothes, leaving them on the floor and stepped into the shower. She turned the water on and stepped into the cold stream, allowing it to soak her hair and body. She then reached for her soap and lathered her body, washed herself off then shampooed her hair with her usual vanilla essence and coconut scented shampoo. After washing her hair, she stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in a warm, white, cotton towel and got a smaller one to dry her hair. Much to her displeasure, the shower did nothing to make her feel energized. She walked out of the bathroom and picked out her clothes for the day. She dressed herself in her usual kimono style gray top, blue three quarter pants and green jacket. Her hair wasn't completely dry but it was not completely wet either so she brushed it out and tied it into her two regular loose ponytails. She stepped over to her mirror and stared at her reflection. She looked tired with dark shadows under her bloodshot eyes as proof. Jiraiya would say that she looked beautiful regardless but she ignored that thought and concluded that she looked like a corpse. She applied her light pink lipstick and took one more look in the mirror. She decided that her current appearance was the best she could do given her circumstances and walked over to her tray. She noticed that Shizune left the pills on a small plate on the tray so she picked them up, placed them in her mouth, drank some water and swallowed them in one gulp. She drank her now cold coffee and headed out her room, by no means ready to start this long day.

Shizune was waiting for Tsunade outside her room and was pleased to see her come out. She feared that Tsunade would purposefully not get ready and just sleep out the entire day. She knew how lazy she could be while on a hangover. She was proud however to see her being a responsible Hokage.

"Why can't Hokages have days off?" Tsunade complained as she walked to her office with Shizune by her side. She knew that she had piles of paperwork sitting in her office waiting on her and shuddered at the thought. Being the Hokage could really be a pain in the ass at times.

"When you have the village's well being and the lives of all its citizens in your hands, there is no way you can have a day off." Shizune said. That made sense. All the hard work came with the title of Hokage but Tsunade still wished that there was some way that she could have a break, "Is there anything else I can get you Lady Tsunade?"

"Just a bucket." Tsunade replied as she opened the door to her office and stepped in, sighing as she saw all the paperwork to be done.

"A bucket?" That was an unusual request.

"Yes. After that episode in the bathroom it would be wise to have a bucket with me in case of another one." Tsunade said as she took her seat, "I'm sure the village elders would not appreciate it if I threw up all over these documents."

"Okay I'll get your bucket." Shizune said while leaving the room.

"Speaking of the elders," Tsunade started and Shizune turned around to hear what she had to say, "I have a meeting with those old bats later on today." Tsunade sighed, "I wonder what those old farts want now." Tsunade hated the elders. She just thought that they needed to leave her to make all the village decisions and not intervene. She was the Hokage anyway, an independent and strong willed one at that so she believed that she didn't need any of her sensei's friends telling her what to do and when to do it. They also treated her like a child and she hated that more than anything in the world.

"Lady Tsunade please be respectful." Shizune begged.

"Hurry up and get me my damn bucket because I'm sure as soon as I see their wrinkly faces I'll throw up." Tsunade said slyly.

"Lady Tsunade!" Shizune scolded.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Just get me that bucket please." Tsunade knew that Shizune just wanted her to be the best Hokage she could be and insulting the village elders was not the way to do it. Tsunade couldn't help herself though; they were just so damn irritating.

Shizune sighed and left the room in search of Tsunade's bucket. It was going to be a long, tiring day, especially with the meeting with the elders. Shizune just hoped that Tsunade could get through the day without going on a stress induced rampage and injuring people or damaging furniture. If she did end up doing that, Shizune would be the one that everybody would blame and he would have to clean up Tsunade's mess. Neither of those were things that Shizune wanted to deal with today. She was already stressed enough because her master's relationship was going to hell. She just wanted Tsunade to be happy. Shizune had so much love and respect for her since she took her in and raised her as her own after her parents and uncle died. She was like her second mother. That is the reason why she was so faithful to her. Whenever Tsunade was sad, Shizune was sad. That's just how things worked in Shizune's life.

* * *

After minutes of searching, Shizune concluded that the Hokage mansion was not home to a bucket. She had to go out and buy one quickly before Tsunade got sick again. She gathered Ton-Ton in her arms and left on her search to find a store that sold buckets. She walked the busy streets of Konoha, greeting those she knew and stopping to let the little kids pet Ton-Ton. The children sure did love that pig since she was so small, cute and full of personality. She finally found a utility store and bought a large bucket with Tsunade's Hokage discount. When she walked out the store with the bucket in her hand and Ton-Ton walking beside her, she saw Naruto in the local ramen shop. It definitely was not unusual to see him there. If anybody spent more time with Jiraiya other than Tsunade it was Naruto. She was sure to get some information about Jiraiya's current state from him. She decided to walk in and question the boy about his sensei.

"Hey Naruto." Shizune smiled as she took a seat beside him. He was on his fourth bowl of ramen and had sauce all over his mouth and clothes. He really was a messy eater.

"Hi Shizune!" Naruto said with food in his mouth, "What's up?"

"Don't talk with food in your mouth Naruto, it's bad manners." She scolded, She saw Naruto as a little brother and she was constantly looking out for him so she only had his best interest at heart.

Naruto swallowed his food and wiped his mouth, leaving a saucy stain on his sleeve, "Hehe, sorry Shizune." He laughed.

"Have you seen Master Jiraiya lately?" Shizune asked.

"The Pervy Sage? Hmmmm let's see." He said then started t think hard, "Oh right!" He exclaimed and then a grumpy expression rose to his face, "He was supposed to train me last night but he blew me off to go to some adult bar. He promised to make it up to me today but he blew me off again because he had something to do. I bet he just wanted to go out with whatever lady friend he met at the bar. I found that strange since he's with Grandma Tsunade. Is he cheating on her?"

"Adult bar?! Oh no, this is not good!" Shizune squealed before answering Naruto's question, "Naruto, Lady Tsunade and Master Jiraiya had a fight last night. I never thought he would move on so quickly though."

"So they aren't together anymore?" Naruto asked before he put some more noodles in his mouth.

"That's what Lady Tsunade says."

Naruto swallowed his noodles and said, "Then obviously Pervy Sage moved on. He is who he is anyway, a perv."

"You're right. Master Jiraiya would jump at just about any woman given the chance." Shizune respected Jiraiya but was not afraid to admit that he was a ruthless pervert, "At this rate they'll never get back together." She whined.

"That's too bad." Naruto shrugged, "Does this mean that Pervy Sage will stop blowing me off now?" He asked but then came up with his own answer, "If they aren't together anymore, that means that the pervy sage won't have anywhere to go so I'll get more training in! Oh man, I'm gonna get so strong and become Hokage in no time!" Naruto said gleefully with a beam of joy in his eyes, "Hey old man, another bowl of ramen to celebrate!" He said to the owner of the ramen shop.

"Oh brother." Shizune muttered under her breath. Clearly annoyed at his stupidity and how unconcerned Naruto was, she gathered her bucket and left with Ton-Ton trailing happily behind.

* * *

Shizune entered her master's office and placed the bucket beside her. Tsunade looked down at the bucket and then up at her apprentice, "It's a good thing I didn't need to throw up while you were gone or else all these documents would be messed up. What took you so long?" Tsunade asked wondering what on earth Shizune was doing for so long.

"My apologies Lady Tsunade but there were no buckets here so I had to go out and buy one." Shizune left out the part where she had a conversation with Naruto and learned that Jiraiya went into an adult bar and probably has a new playmate. She couldn't tell Tsunade that. If she knew, she would probably kill him because as much as she wanted to pretend as if she didn't care about their breakup and wanted people to think that she didn't love him anymore, she did with all her heart.

"Okay then. Thanks for the bucket." Tsunade said then went back to her work, "I have an idea." She looked up at Shizune with a devious smile.

"What?"

"How about we throw away some of these documents and say that we never received them? It'll reduce the work load." Tsunade said with a twinkle in her eye.

"LADY TSUNADE WE ARE NOT GOING TO DO THAT!" Shizune shouted in disbelief.

"Okay, okay, keep your voice down, it was a joke."

"Don't joke about things like that."

"You need to loosen up Shizune!"

Suddenly the door opened and the village elders, Lord Homura and Lady Koharu walked in with their usual stern faces and formal attire. Tsunade cursed under her breath and Shizune bowed respectfully. There was no doubt that they were there for the meeting.

"Hello Princess Tsunade." Homura said, "Shizune." He acknowledged.

"Hello Lord Homura, Lady Koharu." Shizune said respectfully. Tsunade just sat there looking at them with her head resting on her fist. She looked bored and certainly did not welcome them with open arms.

"Tsunade, what happened to you, you look terrible. Is that jutsu of yours wearing off?" Koharu said while looking Tsunade up and down, scrutinizing every inch of her body. Koharu did not like Tsunade since she made it clear that she wanted no advice from either her or Homura.

Tsunade felt her face turn red with anger and felt no restrain to put the old lady in her place, "I may look bad today but you will always look like shit." Tsunade replied without an ounce of regret. Shizune cringed at Tsunade's words. This was an uncomfortable meeting indeed. Tension was present in the air and Shizune did not like it one bit.

"How dare you say that to Koharu! Apologize at once Tsunade!" Homura demanded. He was shocked out of his wits to hear Tsunade say such a thing to his companion. He believed that a Hokage should never be disrespectful or curse at any time given any situation. Tsunade of course didn't care what he or anybody else thought.

"Yeah, I'm not going to do that but let's get this meeting started." Tsunade started, "What do you two want?"

"You probably aren't aware of this due to the events that happened over the last few years but the annual kage meeting will be held in four days in the Cloud Village. The Akatsuki will be the main topic of discussion and you are to be in attendance." Koharu said.

"Why are you just telling me this?!" Tsunade shouted. She hated being told things at the last minute. That was one of the many things that irritated her.

"You don't like to see us remember Tsunade?" Koharu said spitefully.

Tsunade grumbled and mumbled a few more expletives under her breath before calming herself and tried to conduct herself in a professional manner despite the annoyance she felt towards the two old people who stood before her, "It take three days to get to the Cloud Village from here so I have to leave tomorrow morning." Tsunade said, "Shizune will take care of all my paperwork while I'm gone. She's more than capable of handling it."

"Yes we agree that your apprentice is competent but there is one thing you're forgetting princess." Homura said.

"What's that?" Tsunade asked, dreading his answer.

"You need to take an escort with you."

Tsunade rose to her feet in anger, "An escort?! I don't need a damn escort! I'm one of the legendary Sannin and the Hokage, I can take care of myself!" Tsunade shouted. Here they go again, treating her like a child. This reminded her of the time when her grandfather was Hokage and she was a little girl. Since she was the closest thing to a princess that Konoha had, her family kept her under a lock and key. She wasn't allowed to go anywhere by herself. She was constantly being watched by ANBU black ops so she had no freedom. When her grandfather died and her grand-uncle was named the new Hokage, they backed off a little but she was still watched with a close eye. As she grew, despite her skills as a ninja, she was always being protected by somebody.

"All the other kage will have an escort with them. It would look bad on the Leaf Village if its Hokage shows up by herself. It shows that there is nobody in the village capable of protecting the Hokage! We all know that is not the case but we will be the laughing stock of the meeting! So stop complaining and so as you are told!" Koharu shouted in order to knock some sense into Tsunade. That reminded her of her childhood as well when her mother used to scold her. She cursed once more and sat down.

"So who is my escort?" Tsunade asked calmly as she felt her headache return.

"Yo."

Tsunade heart stopped for a second and turned around to face that familiar voice. She saw Jiraiya sitting at her window with an obnoxious smile on his face. She wanted to throw up upon seeing him, "You can't be serious right now!" Tsunade shouted at the elders and Jiraiya stepped inside the room and stood beside them, "I'm not going anywhere with him!" Her head was now throbbing and felt like it was about to explode.

"Yes you are." Homura started, "The other people who are skilled enough to protect you are Kakashi Hatake and Shikaku Nara but they are both currently on missions so the only other person who is up for the job is one of the Sannin such as yourself. That's where Jiraiya comes in."

Tsunade understood his reasoning but she just broke up with the guy. Spending four days alone with him would not only be awkward and slightly uncomfortable but it would be annoying, "I can call Kakashi back from his mission right away!" Tsunade said as she scrambled to find a pen and a scroll to write a message to send with a carrier bird to the jounin.

"Tsunade you are going with Jiraiya and that's that. Stop being so stubborn." Koharu started and placed the official invitation to the Kage meeting on Tsunade's death. The invitation had the Cloud Village seal on it so it came directly from the Raikage, "You two will leave tomorrow, this meeting is over." With that the elders left the room leaving a smiling Jiraiya, an apprehensive Shizune and a completely disgusted Hokage behind.

The room was filled with an awkward silence. Shizune was the first to break the silence, "When you think about it, this won't be so bad." She smiled nervously, knowing that her comment would upset Tsunade but she hoped it wouldn't. Like Tsunade, Shizune was disgusted to see Jiraiya after hearing what Naruto had to say. She wanted to call him out on it but reminded herself that she didn't want Tsunade to know.

Jiraiya smiled at Shizune and Tsunade glared at her with rage evident in her amber eyes, "Gotta go." Shizune said quickly and exited the room as fast as she could. Sometimes she really feared Tsunade.

"This is going to be so much fun Tsunade." Jiraiya said while walking towards Tsunade, "It's just going to be you and me. We'll be able to talk about our little situation, work it out and live happily ever after." He smiled and tried to hug Tsunade but she pushed him away.

"You idiot! If you think anything is going to happen on this trip you're insane!" She said as she got out her chair and started to pace her office, "Those stupid elders are so spiteful! I hate them!" She then looked back at Jiraiya who was still smiling, "We're just going to do what we have to do to get there, go to the meeting and get back in one peace. Then everything will be business as usual, understood?"

"Whatever you say honey!" He said, gave her a quick kiss on her lips and quickly exited the office before she could hurt him.

Tsunade picked up her chair and threw it at him but he left before it could touch him. The chair broke in the process and Tsunade cursed realizing that she now had no chair. She took a deep cleansing breath in an attempt to calk herself, "Why me?" She whined and then unwillingly went back to work.

**This is a turn from the norm, it's more of a comedic chapter.**

**Things are about to get more interesting from here.**

**Thanks for reading and please review.**

**Stay tuned!**


	3. Drop it

_Day 1_

It was extremely early in the morning. The sun was just coming out to brighten the dark Konoha sky with its powerful rays, the birds were chirping and the citizens were slowly but surely starting to awake from their slumber and start their day. The full-fledged ninja would perform their usual duties, either patrolling the village to ensure the safety of all the villagers or head out for a mission, the young ninja-in-training would head off for the academy in hopes of one day graduating and becoming a genin and the civilians would go about their daily lives. The Hokage's usual task was to sit in her office, do paperwork, assign missions and ensure the stability of the village. Today however, she was being forced to attend the annual Kage meeting that she really did not want to sit through. This would be her first year attending that particular meeting. Although it is held annually, over the past three years it was not conducted due to some sort of instability in the various villages. Tsunade has been Hokage for three years now so she was lucky enough to not be able to attend. This year however, with the Akatsuki posing as a major threat to the five great nations, the five Kage put all their issues aside and decided to hold the meeting in the Raikage's village. The main topic of discussion will of course be the Akatsuki. It was indeed an important meeting to have but Tsunade knew it was going to be boring and to make matters worse, Jiraiya was chosen as her escort. They just broke up and now she was being forced to spend every waking moment with him for three days. It would be just like the time when they first met and was sent on their first mission as Team Hiruzen. Jiraiya was hopelessly stupid and refused to stop annoying Tsunade. She had to punch him out to get him to shut up. During this trip Tsunade knew that she would have to do the same thing or possibly drug him to get a moment's peace. It was going to be a long trip. It took approximately three days to get to the Cloud Village from the Leaf Village and the meeting would be held in three days. In order to get there in time, the two Sannin had to leave immediately but Tsunade was currently dead asleep in bed and Jiraiya was doing God knows what.

Tsunade was woken up by the obnoxious squeal of her pet pig. She shot up from her sleeping position only to see her apprentice and Ton-Ton looking straight at her with huge nervous smiles on their faces. They knew that Tsunade hated to be woken up but they had no choice since she had to leave for the Hidden Cloud Village at once. Tsunade glared at them which caused them to back up away from her bed. Her blonde hair was out of its usual ponytails and it was messy, her eyes were not completely open and had dark shadows under them and some drool was on the side of her mouth. She was indeed a gorgeous woman but when she first got up from sleeping, she looked just like any other person who just woke up.

"Shizune, what did I tell you about waking me up?" Tsunade asked seriously and Shizune recalled the events that took place when she made the mistake to wake up a sleeping Tsunade.

_Shizune was eleven years old and they were currently staying in the Land of Tea. It wasnt unusual for them to move from town to town since Tsunade was constantly trying to run from debt collectors. It didn't matter to Shizune where they were living; as long as she had Tsunade by her side she was happy. Tsunade often got drunk though, that and her gambling addiction were the only things that bothered Shizune._

_Tsunade had gotten drunk off her wits the previous night and was now sleeping past two in the afternoon. Shizune woke up a long time ago and was starving. She looked in the cupboards and the fridge but no food was in sight. She wasn't allowed to leave the apartment without Tsunade so she tried to wake her up. She did this by tapping on her back continuously and saying her name over and over again. When Tsunade did wake up she shouted so loud that the entire village could hear. Shizune was in the corner of the apartment cowering in fear._

From that day Shizune never dared to wake up her master again, "I'm sorry Lady Tsunade but you have to leave for the Hidden Cloud Village Today." Shizune reminded her.

"Can't you just go for me?" Tsunade grumbled as she buried herself under her sheets. She was dreading the long journey with Jiraiya not only because he was sure to be annoying but he was bound to bring up their breakup. Instead of talking about it Tsunade was more comfortable with just forgetting everything that happened between them.

"You know I can't do that." Shizune said as she pulled the sheets away, revealing Tsunade, "Now come on, you have to get ready. Your breakfast is waiting on you in the dining room." She said before leaving the room to allow her master to get ready.

Tsunade grumbled once more before reluctantly walking into her bathroom to get ready for her trip. It was going to be a long, tiring journey and she was not in the least bit ready for any part of it. She just hoped that she could get through it with her sanity still in check.

* * *

Like his favorite Hokage, Jiraiya was not a morning person. Unlike Tsunade, he did not have somebody to wake him up so he got up late. He woke up to nothing but the four walls and furniture of his apartment. It was quite lonely and this feeling of solitude did not go unnoticed by the toad sage. Ever since he got together with Tsunade he would usually sleep over at the Hokage mansion or she would stay over at his place. It felt unusual to him waking up alone but he reminded himself that it was something he had to get used to if he did not get things back on track with Tsunade. The reason why he was so eager about the elders' proposal to him to escort Tsunade was because he wanted the opportunity to get her alone, away from all her work and distractions so that they could talk about their issue at hand. His assigned mission was to protect Tsunade at all costs but his personal mission was to get her to forgive him.

The toad sage let out a long, loud yawn as he got up from his bed and made his way over to his bathroom to get ready for the day ahead. He packed his travel bag the night before with some clean clothes, money and toiletries so he did not have to worry about that this morning. He washed up then took a quick shower to energize himself. After he dressed in his usual clothes after his shower, he went to his small kitchen that consisted of only a stove, mini fridge and small table accompanied by one wooden chair. He opened his fridge and saw nothing but some milk, a box of cereal and a jug of water. He shrugged and decided to have the cereal since there was nothing else to eat. He didn't see the need to buy food since Shizune used to prepare all his meals but now that was not the case. He reminded himself that if things really didn't work out he would have to make a grocery list. He ate his breakfast although it wasn't really appetizing since the cereal was stale and he was almost sure that the milk was starting to curdle. He finished it pretty quickly regardless.

He was about to leave his apartment with his bag on his back and large scroll fastened onto it when he heard an obnoxious, loud knock on his door. _'Who the hell could that be this early?' _He thought as he walked towards the door. He opened it and there stood his apprentice with his usual huge smile plastered in his face.

"I'm ready for my training Pervy sage!"

_'Crap, I was supposed to train him today.' _Jiraiya completely forgot about that. After blowing Naruto off for two days now, Jiraiya almost felt guilty. How was he going to tell Naruto that he couldn't train him for a few days? Jiraiya decided to just tell him the truth, "Look Naruto." He began, "I have a mission."

"Huh? A mission?" Naruto asked, "Does this mission involve me and my training?" He asked hopefully. Naruto wanted more than anything to become stronger and the only way he could do that was if he occupied his time with relentless training but he couldn't do it without the help of his teacher. He was no doubt annoyed that Jiraiya kept blowing him off.

"Sorry kid but my mission is to follow Tsunade to the Hidden Cloud Village for her meeting so no, it doesn't involve you." Jiraiya said simply as he stepped out of his apartment, locking the door behind him with his key.

"What?! Can't Grandma Tsunade take care of herself?!" Naruto shouted in disbelief, "Why does she need you to baby sit her?!"

"It's a political thing, you wouldn't understand." Jiraiya explained, "I promise you when I return we will resume your training but while I'm gone practice on your own. Seek out Kakashi's help if you want, I'm sure he'll help you."

Naruto grumbled a bit, "Fine."

"Atta boy!" Jiraiya said as he ruffled the boy's spiky blonde hair, "I gotta run." Then Jiraiya left the disappointed blonde to head out with his other favorite blonde.

* * *

"This is absolutely ridiculous!" Tsunade shouted at the top of her voice, "Where the hell is he?!"

After Tsunade got ready she left her mansion immediately and headed towards the main gate. She was there for half an hour now and Jiraiya was late. She was already pissed at him because of the breakup and this only added to her annoyance with him. So far, Jiraiya was not off to a good start. If he wanted to get back together with Tsunade he had to try harder than this.

"I'm sure he'll be here soon Lady Tsunade but please keep your voice down, it's really early and not all the villagers are awake yet." Shizune pleaded. If Tsunade were to wake up all the citizens with her shouts they would surely complain to Shizune.

"I don't give a damn! That idiot should have been here waiting on me not the other way around!" Tsunade shouted once again, "Genma, Kotetsu, open the gate I'm leaving without this baboon." She demanded. Genma and Kotetsu were in charge of who comes in and goes out of the village so they were stationed at the main gate. They quickly followed their Hokage's orders and opened the large gate for her.

"Lady Tsunade you can't leave without Master Jiraiya!"

"If he doesn't show up within the next five minutes I'm leaving!"

As if on cue, right after Tsunade said that, Jiraiya emerged from the distance and was walking towards them, "Sorry I'm late." He called out as he got closer. When he finally approached them, Tsunade had a look of disgust on her face and Shizune looked worried. She thought that Tsunade would punch him out for being tardy but to her surprise she didn't, "Naruto showed up at my apartment and I had to tell him why I can't train him."

"Whatever, let's just go." Tsunade said as she started to walk off until she was stopped by an unfamiliar feminine voice calling out to her teammate.

"Jiraiya wait!" The voice called out.

Jiraiya looked off in the direction in which the voice was coming from and saw a familiar young woman. She was wearing a tight pink dress that had a slit at the side and he immediately recognized who it was. A nervous sweat ran down his back and his heart started to pound within his chest. This was not good. She ran towards him and crashed into him pressing her lips to his in a passionate kiss. Tsunade and Shizune stood and watched in shock.

"Misuzu what are you doing here?" Jiraiya asked after her peeled her off of him.

She looked at him in confusion, "I was on my way home from work and I saw you heading out the village with the Hokage. I just wanted to know why you walked out on me last night." She said while never letting go of his strong arms.

"I told you already, I didn't want that." Jiraiya explained.

"I don't believe that for a second, you seemed pretty aroused to me."

Tsunade decided to interrupt because she was confused and in shock to see this young woman all over her teammate, "Who are you?" She asked the young woman.

"My apologies for not introducing myself Lady Hokage. I'm Misuzu, I met Jiraiya two days ago." She said respectfully but still not letting go of her grip on Jiraiya.

"Where did you meet him?" Tsunade asked eager to get to the bottom of this.

"It really doesn't matter Tsunade." Jiraiya interrupted nervously. This was bound to cause a huge rift between them if she found out the truth.

"Shut up Jiraiya!" She demanded, "Misuzu, as the Hokage I demand you to tell me everything."

"This is really embarrassing but if you insist." She started, "I met Jiraiya while I was working at the adult bar. He was so into me and I was into him so we went upstairs and we were about to get umm, intimate. But then he left me." She blushed furiously.

"And this was two days ago?" Tsunade asked to confirm a thought of hers.

"Yes mam, at about nine at night."

"Okay that's all I needed to know. You may go home now."

"Thank you Lady Hokage." She bowed then looked to Jiraiya, "So when you get back are we gonna pick up where we left off Mister?"

"No Misuzu, there's a reason why I left you. I don't want to be with you." Jiraiya said annoyed at the young woman. She was the source of all the problems that were to come.

"Whatever Mister, you don't know what you're missing." She taunted then left.

Jiraiya looked at Tsunade and for the first time ever could not read her. He didn't know what she was thinking and that worried him. She didn't look like she wanted to kill him; she didn't look like she was sad. She was just expressionless. The air among the three was still and silent. It was painful just standing there not knowing what to expect. Jiraiya was the first to break the silence. He wanted to try to explain himself.

"Tsunade you have to understand that she means nothing to me, what happened between us was nothing. I,"

"Don't say anything." Tsunade said quietly, not looking up at him, "Let's just go."

"Can I just explain myself?"

"No. Just drop it." She said as she walked over to Shizune to take her suitcase from her.

"Lady Tsunade?" Shizune said as she handed her the suitcase, "Are you alright?" This was the reason why Shizune didn't want to tell Tsunade about Jiraiya's actions.

"Stop worrying about me, I'm fine. Just take care of the village while I'm gone." She said.

"Yes Mam." Shizune said sadly. She hated how her master was clearly hurt by this.

Tsunade started to walk away from her assistant and out the gate. Jiraiya followed behind, maintaining a distance between them. Shizune glared at Jiraiya and before he caught up to Tsunade she told him, "Fix things with her." He nodded and continued to walk. He felt so guilty and the look on her face made him feel even worse. He didn't know how but he was determined to fix things with her.

* * *

They were walking for two hours now and they haven't uttered a word to each other since. Tsunade was still walking ahead and Jiraiya was walking behind. They were both lost in their thoughts. Tsunade couldn't believe that he would do something like that to her after all they've been through. She would be lying if she said it didn't hurt but she refused to cry, she refused to show any vulnerability. She would not allow Jiraiya to feel sorry for her or comfort her. She was too angry with him, too disappointed and too betrayed. She just wanted to get this meeting over with so that she wouldn't have to be in the same area as him. If she could, she would just go home and forget all about the meeting. But she knew she couldn't do that.

When he 'died' she was so broken, so vulnerable and when he came back she felt whole again. She felt like her life was finally perfect when she allowed herself to take down all the walls she put up to protect herself from hurt but now she regretted ever putting them down. She should have just remained alone for the rest of her life. Relationships were too complicated and betrayal hurt. She thought Jiraiya, out of all people, would never hurt her like how he did just now. It was painful to see him peeping at women but it was devastating to know that not even an our after they broke up, he was ready to jump in the sheets with another woman. Now that stung. That feeling she experienced when she saw Misuzu kiss Jiraiya was worse than being stabbed or caught in a really bad genjutsu. That feeling cut deep into her core and shattered her heart.

Tsunade stopped walking and looked over to her right. She saw a small tea shop so she turned in the direction of it and walked towards it.

"Where are you going?" Jiraiya asked when he noticed the blonde stray from the path they were taking.

"I'm hungry." Was all she said to him.

He followed behind her because he too was famished.

"Welcome!" The tea shop owner smiled upon seeing the two Sannin enter her establishment. It was quite empty in there with only a couple seated at the back and a man sitting near the door. The owner was a plump lady with rosy cheeks. She was so cheerful, the exact opposite of the remaining Sannin at that moment.

Tsunade and Jiraiya took a seat next to the window. Tsunade sat at one end of the wooden table and Jiraiya sat at the other. She silently looked over the menu and Jiraiya did the same. The shop didn't really have a wide variety of food but they didn't care, they just wanted something to eat quickly so that they could get to the inn where they would stay for the night before nightfall, "What will you two be having today?" The lady asked happily.

"I'll have some tea and rice balls." Tsunade said dryly.

"The fish please." Jiraiya ordered.

"Okay, your food won't take long to come out so please be patient." The lady said before she left the two alone at their table.

It was still silent between them. Tsunade was looking absently out the window, staring at the flowers as they blew in the wind. She admired their colors and their beauty. Jiraiya was awkwardly playing with his fingers, not sure what to say or if he should say anything.

He felt extremely guilty and hated himself at the moment. He promised Tsunade that he would never leave her or do anything to hurt her but he broke that promise. The look on her face killed him. She was just expressionless and that was so strange to him. He hated that Misuzu came to him and sold him down the river. He hated that he even met her. He hated that they broke up. He hated that he was hurting the only woman who he ever truly loved. He hated everything at that moment. This trip was supposed to be utilized to fix things between them and if anything, it was making things worse.

Thankfully the food arrived and they ate silently. At least now it wasn't as awkward as just sitting in silence. Jiraiya vowed to himself that he would break the silence after they ate and talk to her. Even if she didn't want to hear it, he was going to address the issue and hopefully fix it. He wasn't quite sure if it would work but he had to try.

They paid their bill and walked out the tea shop. They were about to resume their journey until Jiraiya spoke up, "Tsunade, we can't just keep doing this. We can't continue to pretend as if nothing happened. We have to talk about this."

Suddenly a fuse burst in Tsunade and she became angry. Her anger was evident on her face. That was one thing she couldn't hide from anyone. When she was angry, everybody new, "Okay, let's talk about the fact that you are a horny old man! That girl is half your age!" She shouted.

"You have to understand that she means absolutely nothing to me." He tried to drill that in her head but she wouldn't have it.

"We just broke up! You couldn't even wait one day! You were so ready to jump into bed with that woman and we haven't even been broken up for an hour! Did our relationship really mean that little to you that you were so eager to move on?"

"Don't be ridiculous, you know how much you and our relationship mean to me."

"No, I really don't know. Peeping at women is bad enough but getting intimate with another woman just draws the line!"

"We didn't have sex!"

"It doesn't matter! It doesn't matter if you didn't have sex with her, you almost did and that's just as bad! If you came close to doing it that means that you wanted to do it and that hurts! It freaking hurts Jiraiya! I thought I meant more to you but I was obviously wrong!"

"The reason why I didn't sleep with her was because it wasn't you! Again, that woman means nothing to me!"

"Of course she doesn't mean anything to you. You just wanted her as your sex toy. I guess that your feelings towards me are the same as your feelings towards her."

"That's bullshit Tsunade! You know I love you!"

"I thought I knew that..."

"Tsunade, what happened was nothing. You have to believe me when I say that."

"You just don't get it and you never will." Tsunade said quietly, "Let's just do what we have to do and go home."

"Tsunade..."

"Just drop it."

Jiraiya gave up in that moment. All his efforts to get Tsunade to understand that he loved her more than anything in the world and that his 'affair' with Misuzu meant absolutely nothing to him were futile. He felt like a complete failure. He was given a second chance at life and it was going perfectly until he messed it up. He hurt the woman he loves with his perverted habits. He felt like such an idiot.

There was something that he didn't understand. It didn't matter that he did not sleep with the young woman but he thought that it did. The fact that they almost slept together was hurtful. It made Tsunade feel like she wasn't good enough for him and that their relationship was insignificant in his life. She still refused to let tears fall from her eyes. She was tired of crying. She cried too much when he 'died' and before they got together. She would not allow herself to cry now. She had to be strong for herself because she didn't know what would happen to her if she allowed herself to be depressed again. Depression was too frequent in her life and it was about time that she be happy. Why was it that she just couldn't be?

They made it to the inn a little after nightfall. They were behind schedule thanks to their fight but they still made it in a good enough time. The inn wasn't anything fancy but they just needed a place to rest their heads for the night so it didn't matter to them. They weren't materialistic people anyway. There was only one employee sitting at the front desk but she didn't look very welcoming.

"How may I help you?" She asked in a monotone.

"We need two rooms." Tsunade replied.

"Correction, we need one room." Jiraiya said quickly after.

"What are you doing?" She asked annoyed at his request for one room. They just had a huge fight. What did he expect, that they would kiss and make up and have a good time cuddling in bed?

"I still have a mission to complete. That is protecting you. I can't protect you if I'm not with you." He replied tiredly. It would be impossible for him to know if she was safe if they were staying in separate rooms. As much as they didn't want to be around each other right now, they had no choice. If something were to happen to the Leaf's Hokage under Jiraiya's guard, there would be some serious consequences he would have to pay.

Tsunade grumbled, knowing he was right but hating everything about their circumstances, "okay fine, two rooms but separate beds."

The employee checked the availability of the rooms and found that one room was indeed available but there was one problem, "There is a room available but it comes with one bed not two."

"What?! Are you sure there isn't any room with two beds available?"

"I'm afraid so."

"I guess we'll just have to take what we can get." Jiraiya said.

"How long will you be staying?"

"Just for the night." He said as he reached into his pocket to retrieve his wallet, "This should cover it." He then handed the employee some money.

"Thank you." The employee accepted the cash and handed Jiraiya the room key, "You're room is number four, have a great night."

Jiraiya took the key and went to the room. The Sannin placed their bags on the ground and Tsunade grabbed her pajamas and went to the bathroom to change. Jiraiya changed in the room while she was in the bathroom. Tsunade came out in soft blue shorts and a white shirt.

"You can have the bed." Jiraiya said upon seeing her.

"You thought I was going to sleep on the ground for you?" She said sarcastically as she walked over to the bed and sat on it.

"I'm trying to be nice here. Just say thank you."

"Fine, thanks." She said and threw a pillow and a blanket to Jiraiya on the floor, "Use those so you won't be uncomfortable or cold."

"That's nice of you. Thank you."

"Whatever." She said as she settled in her bed, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight Tsunade."

* * *

**That was sad. **

**Thank you or reading and be on the lookout for chapter 4 which will be day 2 of Tsunade and Jiraiya's trip. Please leave a review and tell me what you think of this story so far.**

**Thanks again! **


	4. Hot Springs

_Day 2_

It was a pleasant day. The sun was shining brilliantly, the birds were chirping, various animals were scurrying along happily and the leaves and plants were swaying in the light gust of wind. Tsunade and Jiraiya we're walking down a dirt road that would take them closer to the Hidden Cloud Village and to another inn where they would stay for the night. The trip did not go off on a good start since it was revealed to Tsunade that her teammate was about to get intimate with another woman who was young enough to be his daughter just a few moments after they broke up. It was painful to receive that news but Tsunade tried her best to banish it to the back of her mind so that she could concentrate on the task that she had on hand, that was to get to the meeting on time so that Konoha would not be the laughing stock of all the great nations.

Jiraiya was walking with a slight limp and a swelling bump on his head thanks to his Hokage. There was a little incident in the room before they left to continue their journey...

_Jiraiya had just gotten up from his comfortable slumber. The pillow and blanket that Tsunade gave him did little to cushion the hard wooden floor so he was sore all over. If only he didn't screw up their relationship, he would have been able to sleep on the bed. He rubbed his sore back and stretched to loosen up his tight muscles. He then looked up to see an empty bed. He wondered where the slug princess was until he heard water splashing on the tiled floor of the shower. Tsunade woke up way before him because she wanted to get first dibs on the bathroom before he went in there and messed it up. Women and men just treated the bathroom differently. Women always wanted everything to be pristine and it really did not matter to men. _

_Tsunade stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in a towel until realizing that she left her clothes in the bedroom. She couldn't just stay in there and she sure as hell was not going to ask Jiraiya to pass her clothes. She didn't want him to handle her underwear after everything that happened between them over the last few days. After taking a calming breath, she decided to go into the room in her towel and pray that the old pervert was still asleep. _

_Jiraiya decided to gather his clothes and wait just outside the door of the bathroom so that he could go in right after she came out. The faster he went in, the faster they went back on the road. It seemed like a good idea at first until the door swung open and knocked him onto his back with Tsunade falling over on top of him. Her towel was lost in the collision and she noticed that she was naked on top of Jiraiya. She blushed furiously and scrambled to get her towel and wrap it around herself. When she was finally covered she got up from her awkward position and Jiraiya started to laugh._

_"What's so funny idiot?!" She shouted._

_"Oh nothing." He started, "It's just that I don't know why you're hiding from me. There's nothing you got that I haven't seen before."_

_His statement caused her to blush even more, "YOU PERVERTED IDIOT!" She shouted and gave him a huge punch on his head that almost knocked him out. She attempted to kick him in the crotch but he dodged it and she ended up kicking him on his leg instead. He fell to the ground and started to cower in fear after seeing the look of complete rage on her face, "I'm sorry Tsunade! Please don't kill me!" He begged._

_"Don't you ever make a comment like that again you moron!"_

_"Understood Lady Hokage." _

Jiraiya should have known better. You think after many injuries and a near death experience at the hands of Tsunade he would have learned...

"You know you didn't have to hit me so hard." Jiraiya whined as he rubbed the part of his head that suffered the damage, "My head hurts!"

"Stop complaining idiot, you deserved it." She replied.

"No I didn't, I was only speaking the truth."

Tsunade stopped walking to glare at him. If looks could kill, Jiraiya would be dead, "Do you want me to hit you again?"

"N-No." He said quickly trying so desperately to avoid another deadly blow from the Hokage, "But in all honesty, you look amazing without any clothes on, I mean, your body is rocking. So curvy, so voluptuous, so..." Tsunade whacked him in the head once again, "OW!"

"You really don't know when to shut up!"

Jiraiya held the new spot on his head where Tsunade hit and felt it start to swell. That one hurt more than the last time. He should really learn to keep some things to himself. If he learned how to do that, then he wouldn't be walking around in public with two huge bumps seated on the top of his head.

They walked for a few more hours, stopping regularly for five minute breaks. All was not forgotten about the hurt that Jiraiya caused Tsunade but they tried to communicate. They engaged in idle conversation about the village and how Shizune is keeping up with all of the Hokage's work. While walking, they came across a hot spring resort. Tsunade didn't even acknowledge it but Jiraiya stayed behind to read a brochure about the resort that employees were handing out to people passing by.

"Hey Tsunade!" Jiraiya called. Tsunade was unwilling to turn back but did so regardless of her feelings.

"What is it?" She asked clearly annoyed as she walked towards him.

"How about we hang out in here for a while?"

"Are you crazy? By stopping here, we're completely throwing off our schedule!"

"We don't have to stay long, let's just soak for a little to get rid of all our stress."

"Let me see that thing." Tsunade snapped as she grabbed the brochure out of his hands, "They only have mixed bathing?! Haven't you seen enough this morning pervert?!"

"It's not like that. We are both so stressed and this is the only hot spring that we're going to come across. Let's just relax for half an hour then we can get to the inn in perfect time."

Tsunade thought about it for a minute. The truth is her stress level was at its max due to all the drama that occurred yesterday and she could really use the break. Since they left early this morning they were right on schedule and a little detour from their path wouldn't delay them at all. She sighed, "Okay fine but I swear Jiraiya if you try anything perverted I will personally hurt you in ways you never thought possible. Understood?"

"Loud and clear!"

* * *

_Meanwhile in Konoha…_

'_I hope everything is running smoothly for Lady Tsunade and Master Jiraiya.' _Shizune thought as she worked on Tsunade's paperwork. Stacks upon stacks of paper were brought in every minute until they formed a seemingly never ending pile on the floor of the Hokage mansion. It was extremely tedious and tiring but it had to be done.

Shizune was doing a good job of being 'Hokage' so far. All the moments when she would do Tsunade's paperwork after she fell asleep on her desk really did prepare her for this. The only thing Shizune didn't do was send out ninja on missions. Homura and Koharu handled that part since they were a step down from the Hokage.

Suddenly a knock came from the door of the office, _'Who could that be?' _Shizune wondered slightly annoyed. She had so much work to do that she had no time to see anybody. Now she knew how Tsunade felt every time someone interrupted her, "Come in."

A pink-haired girl walked in. She looked puzzled upon seeing Shizune seated at the Hokage desk, "Um, hi Shizune." She greeted the older woman, "Where's Lady Tsunade?"

"She's on her way to the Hidden Cloud for a meeting." She said as she continued to read the documents before her and stamp them with the Hokage's special stamp that would leave the Hokage seal on any document when used, "What is it that you want her for."

Sakura stepped closer to the desk until she was standing directly in front of the black-haired jounin, "I came to report on the current state of one of her patients."

"Since she's not here, tell me." Shizune instructed while picking up another paper.

"His name is Hayate Ito and he sustained some minor injuries while on a mission in the Hidden Rain Village but thankfully he is doing much better." Sakura reported.

"Lady Tsunade will be pleased to hear that."

"I'm sure she will be." The chunnin smiled. She then remembered something that Naruto told her about Tsunade and Jiraiya. At first she didn't believe him but knowing that Shizune was Tsunade's right hand, she was sure that she could confirm it, "Shizune, can I ask you something?"

Shizune sighed. She was hoping that Sakura would leave after telling her what she had come to report. It's not that Shizune didn't like Sakura, in fact Sakura was like a little sister to her since they are both students of Tsunade but she just had so much work to do, she had no time to sit around and talk to her all day. Shizune was too kind however, so she decided to lend an air to the pink- haired chunnin, "Sure."

Sakura drew up a chair next to Shizune, sat down and said, "Well, it's about Lady Tsunade and Master Jiraiya."

Upon hearing the name of her mentor and her teammate, Shizune put her pen down and diverted her attention from her work to the younger woman who sat beside her, "What about them?"

"That idiot Naruto told me that they broke up but I don't believe him for a second. Master Jiraiya and Lady Tsunade are perfect together so there's no way they would break up right?" She said but then saw the look of sorrow on Shizune's face, "They are still together right."

"I wish I could say that they are." Shizune said sadly. There was nothing more in the world that she wanted but the happiness of her master. She saw that Jiraiya brought her eternal happiness and now that they are no longer together, her heart ached for her because that happiness has disappeared.

"They broke up?" Sakura said with wide green eyes, "Why? How?"

"Apparently Master Jiraiya was caught peeping at women in the hot springs and Lady Tsunade broke off their relationship. To make matters worse, Jiraiya went to an adult bar a few minutes after and met this woman. They almost had sex and Tsunade found out just as they were about to leave for the Hidden Cloud Village." Shizune explained.

"Master Jiraiya went with her?! How awkward!"

"The village elders made him escort her to the meeting. I can only imagine how awkward it must be for the both of them but I'm hoping that during this trip they can forgive each other and get back together."

"Me too. They were so great together and Master Jiraiya made her so happy."

"I agree."

"Well if they come back and they still aren't back together, we'll just have to devise a plan to get them back together." Sakura smiled, trying to get Shizune to do the same.

"I don't mean to kick you out Sakura but I have a lot of work to finish up." Shizune said.

"I won't keep you then. See you later Shizune!" Sakura said as she walked out of the office, leaving Shizune alone in the room with Ton-Ton sleeping on the floor beside her.

'_I hope you two are doing alright. Please get back together…'_

* * *

Jiraiya and Tsunade were given brown robes upon entering the resort and they headed straight for the hot springs. They changed in their respective changing rooms and walked out to the hot spring. Nobody was in there so it was just the two of them. Tsunade hoped that at least one other person would be in there so things wouldn't become so awkward between the two of them but she didn't get her wish.

"Turn around while I get in." Tsunade demanded. Jiraiya did as he was told to escape the wrath of Tsunade. She undressed and got in the steaming hot pool of water, "You can turn around now."

Jiraiya didn't care if Tsunade was right there; he stripped down right in front of her and hopped in, splashing the Hokage in the process.

"Did you have to jump in idiot?" Tsunade complained as she wiped away some water from her face.

"Yup!" He smiled.

They sat there for a few minutes, allowing the steam to erase all their accumulated stress. Jiraiya dosed off and Tsunade admired his toned body as she always did when he had his shirt off. He was well structured and Tsunade loved that about him. She wanted to touch his muscles so she moved over to him and touched his chest with her slender fingers. She traced the outline of each toned muscle and marveled at how masculine and strong it felt. She then traced a scar that was present on the upper left of his chest. He got that scar a long time ago when they were fighting Danzo and became the Legendary Sannin for the first time. She remembered healing that injury and how much it caused him pain. She absently placed a small kiss on that scar which caused Jiraiya to open his eyes.

"Tsunade, what are you doing?" He asked and then she looked up at him, blushing furiously.

"Nothing it's just..."

"You got turned on by my fantastic body so you wanted to come over here and feel me up right?" He laughed.

"Idiot!" She said while getting out and wrapping herself immediately in a towel.

"Nice body." He said suggestively and Tsunade glared at him with violent intent in her eyes, "You didn't tell me to close my eyes!" He pointed out and laughed.

"You're so annoying!" She shouted, "Now get your ass out of there, we have to get going!"

"Fine, fine, whatever you say Lady Hokage." Jiraiya said as he got out of the water standing in front of Tsunade in the nude.

"Would it kill you to put on a towel?" Tsunade asked while blushing and covering her amber eyes with her hand.

"You've seen it all before so I don't care." He teased then wrapped a towel around his waist.

"Whatever! Just hurry up so we can leave."

"Okay, okay."

She went in the women's changing area to get ready to continue their journey with the blush still evident on her cheeks. Jiraiya did the same but he had a smug smile on his face, a smile that would surely annoy the hell out of Tsunade.

They started on their journey once again, both relieved of some of the stress that they started the trip with. Tsunade was completely embarrassed at what she just did. She couldn't help herself. It was as if he was a drug and she was addicted to him. Feeling his muscles was bad enough but kissing his scar that had some sort of significant meaning to her was really bad.

She still loved him, she knew that much. Despite all the crap they went through for the past few days, he still occupied a special place in her heart and that space will always belong to him no matter what happens. He will always be her favorite idiotic toad sage.

She was still angry and hurt by what he did though. She couldn't stop picturing Jiraiya and that woman together. Images of them kissing circulated through her mind and that killed her. To think that someone you love was happy with someone else was the most painful thing that a person could ever imagine. Tsunade didn't know what to do so she pushed all her thoughts away and continued to walk.

"We're here." Jiraiya said as they approached the second inn where they would be staying for the night, "Hello there, we need one room with two separate beds." Jiraiya said to the employee at the front desk.

"Let me check the availability on that." He said then checked his records of the guests staying at the inn and what rooms they were in, "I'm sorry but that is not available. You can have one room with one double bed however."

"You have got to be kidding me." Jiraiya complained. The first inn didn't have what they wanted and now the second one didn't have it either. This was ridiculous. He would surely wake up with a bad back again because of the floor he would have to sleep on.

"We'll take it." Tsunade spoke up. She was exhausted and just wanted to go to sleep.

They paid the fee for the night and went up to the room. It was nicer than the first one they stayed in. It wasn't too small but it wasn't too big either. It was just right for one night. They got ready for bed. Tsunade settled herself in the bed and Jiraiya started to prepare the ground by spreading out a blanket and placing a pillow on top of it.

"What are you doing?" Tsunade asked as she witnessed Jiraiya lay down on the ground. He was clearly uncomfortable and Tsunade felt bad. He woke up sore this morning and she didn't want him to feel even worse in the morning.

"What does it look like? I'm going to bed."

"Get up here." She said while patting the space beside her.

He looked up at her lost for words, "I don't want you to sleep on the ground again. It was obvious that you were uncomfortable and furthermore you woke up with a bad back. I don't want it to get worse. It may prevent you from walking quickly so we may be late for the meeting. So stop looking at me at get up here."

Jiraiya gathered his blanket and pillow and joined Tsunade on the other side of the bed, "Thanks Tsunade."

"Don't thank me and just go to sleep."

"Whatever you say princess. Goodnight, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite." He sang quietly trying to erase the awkwardness he felt.

"Goodnight dummy."

The two sannin allowed themselves to fall asleep. They didn't dare to move closer to each other so they slept stationary on their sides of the bed.

During the night, Tsunade felt cold and the blanket she was under was doing little to insulate her. She tried to forget about the cold that was nipping at her bones and caused her to shiver but there was nothing she could do to warm herself. She looked over at her sleeping teammate. He looked so comfortable, so warm. Besides here better judgment, she moved closer to him, wrapped her arms around his muscular right arm and snuggled into him. Warmth took over her body and she fell asleep once again.

Jiraiya woke up in the middle of the night after sensing a close presence. His eyes travelled downwards and saw the fifth Hokage sleeping peacefully while wrapped in his embrace. _'When did she get here?' _He wondered. He smiled upon seeing how beautiful she looked with the moonlight shining on her flawless skin. He brushed some of her blonde hair away from her perfectly sculpted face and placed a tender kiss right on the purple diamond that sat in the middle of her forehead. He closed his eyes once again and realized that he wanted to remain in this position, wrapped in the embrace of the woman he loved for the rest of his life.

* * *

**They're getting there. Everything happens eventually…**

**Thank you to everyone who has been reviewing and even those who have not reviewed but continue to read this story. It means a lot to me.**

**The next chapter will be day three of their journey that is the meeting. What will happen? Stay tuned to find out!**

**Byeeeee! **


	5. The Meeting

_Day 3_

"Right this way Lady Hokage." The Hidden Cloud Ninja who was in charge of ensuring that the Kages were comfortable said. He directed Tsunade and Jiraiya to the waiting room of the Raikage mansion where they would stay until the other Kages arrived.

The wait was annoying especially because Tsunade had to get up early to get there on time. She didn't see why she had to wait on them when they should have been there already.

"I hope this will be comfortable as you wait." The ninja said as he opened the door to the room, "I shall inform you when the other Kages arrive but please help yourself to some refreshments in the meanwhile." He said politely pointing to the table laden with fresh fruits, finger sandwiches and beverages.

The waiting room was fairly large and nicely decorated but it was in no comparison to the Hokage's since it was neither larger nor grander. The Hokage mansion in general is larger than this one. It is a given fact that out of all the Five Great Nations, the Hidden Leaf Village is the most developed and has more of a variety of citizens with their own unique fighting style. After all, three of the strongest clans derived from that village. The Senju, the Hyuga and the Uchiha.

The Hidden Cloud Village was a sight to see. It was quite beautiful with low lying clouds gracing the village and its cool temperature. The only think it was lacking in was the brilliant shining of the sun above. The village was like a rare treasure in the eyes of the Raikage and all the Hidden Cloud citizens. For all the years Tsunade has known the Raikage, he was always a cocky, arrogant man. But through his cockiness and arrogance, lies a devoted leader who truly admired and was proud of his home land.

"How long do we have to wait for the other Kages to get here?!" Tsunade shouted with annoyance evident in her tone. She traveled all the way from the Leaf Village, was subjected to Jiraiya's stupidity and annoying personality, stayed in one star inns and had to get up early every morning just to get to the meeting that she was forced to go to, only to wait in a room for the other village leaders to show up, "If I knew those assholes would be late I would not have put an effort into getting here on time."

Jiraiya was busy stuffing his face with the fresh fruits and finger sandwiches that were untouched by the Hokage instead of listening to her complaints. Those refreshments were for the Kages only but he couldn't help himself. If he ate everything he would just blame it on Tsunade.

"Are you even listening to me Jiraiya?!" She shouted before throwing a rolled up magazine at his head to get his attention.

"OW!" He yelped upon feeling the magazine hit his head hard, "What was that for?" He whined in a child-like voice.

"I would like you to listen to me when I'm speaking to you dummy!"

"You were saying something? I was too busy eating those delicious fruits and delicate sandwiches to hear anything hime." He smiled, "What were you saying?"

"Forget it."

If he could guess why the Hokage was so grumpy, he would say it had something to do with waiting for her fellow village leaders to show up or perhaps the root of her agitated mood was the series of events that unfolded this morning...

_Tsunade gently fluttered her hazel eyes open to find herself next to her fellow Sannin with her head lying comfortably on his sturdy, well-toned chest. She inhaled his scent just for a second and marveled in the familiar scent. It was amazing how good he smelt but how masculine he was. She nuzzled deeper onto him and closed her eyes once again. Her motives were disturbed however, when her strong pillow moved up and down rapidly and sounds of laughter came out of the mouth of her teammate. She quickly shot open her eyes and looked up into Jiraiya's face and her cheeks automatically became red with embarrassment. She propelled herself up on her elbows and changed her current position to a sitting one. _

_"What are you laughing at idiot?!" She said with folded arms and tried not to make eye contact with him._

_"You just couldn't get enough of me could you? Do I smell that good hime?" He let out a condescending laugh that earned him a hit on the head._

_"Shut up Jiraiya!" She demanded, "You're so damn full of yourself!"_

_Jiraiya rubbed the spot on his head that received the hit, "Well, I am the handsome devil of Mount Myoboku after all."_

_"As if! If you ask me, I would say Lord Fukusaku looks more handsome than you."_

_"Well in that case you dated and had sex with a man who looks worse than an old toad."_

_She blushed furiously at his ridiculous statement, "Shut up!" She hit him once again._

_"Ow! Did you have to hit me in the same spot Tsunade?" He said while rubbing his now swelling head._

_"Serves you right for making such a stupid comment."_

_"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I was only kidding."_

_"I know that idiot."_

_"Tsunade." He started._

_"What now?"_

_"You know I really did miss waking up to you." He smiled the sweetest smile that she had ever seen grace his face. He said that with such honesty and happiness in his voice that she had the urge to forgive him for all the crap that happened between them and just kiss him and never stop. But for some reason, she couldn't. The sight of him kissing that woman and the thought of him almost making love to her were burnt onto her mind and she could not forget them. She wanted to, but she just couldn't._

_"Dammit Jiraiya!" She said as she fumbled to get out of the bed, "Don't say that."_

_"Why not? I mean it."_

_"Can you just stop making this breakup so hard for me?" She begged. She wanted so desperately to forget all that happened between them over the last three months and just move on with her life. She didn't want to acknowledge all the pain that he caused her. She just wanted to forget. But with him being so sweet, she couldn't help but want to relive all their happy moments. When she thought of something good that happened between them, bad memories would come to mind. Therefore, she would go through all that pain and sadness again and again, every time he did something kind._

_"You're the one who broke up with me Tsunade. I wanted no part in this."_

_"If you didn't want this to happen you wouldn't have been with that girl."_

_"How many times do I have to say that it meant nothing and that I'm sorry?"_

_"You don't have to say it anymore, I believe you."_

_"Then if you believe me, what's the problem?"_

_"I just can't forgive you. Not now at least." _

_"What do I have to do to make you forgive me?"_

"_I don't know... Let's just go to this meeting and hopefully I'll figure it out..." She needed time to allow herself to be able to trust him again._

_Silence loomed over them for a moment. Both stared deep into the other's eyes, waiting for an answer that did not come. All that came was an agreement to wait on an answer, "Okay."_

Jiraiya looked over at the love of his life and could tell just by the blank expression on her face that she was in deep thought. He wanted her to forgive him desperately for he missed being romantically involved with her. He missed their moments of intimacy, their long conversations and waking up to her flawless skin, radiant blonde hair, soft touch and beautiful hazel eyes. He would not rush her to forgive him though. After all he was the one who was to blame for their breakup. He brought her pain and feelings of worthlessness. Therefore, he had to be patient and wait for her. After all, you have to wait for good things to come to you.

"Are you okay Tsunade?" He asked with concern evident in his voice.

She didn't say anything. She just gently nodded her head to indicate that she was alright.

"If it's about this morning, we can talk about it." He said gently.

"Can we not? I just want to take some time to think about this on my own."

He understood why she wanted to deal with this by herself so he left her to do as she pleased, "Okay."

Suddenly the Raikage, A joined the two Sannin in the room. He was a large man who was quick tempered and believed that he was the most powerful Kage. The two did not acknowledge his presence as they were too preoccupied by their own thought processes so he cleared his throat to grasp their attention, "AHEM!"

They both looked up at him and did nothing but stare at the large man who stood before them. This was strange to A since he was used to people bowing at his feet and welcoming him with open arms every time he entered a room. He realized that they were not going to greet him first so he gave up on trying to act superior and greeted them instead, "Nice to see you again Tsunade." He turned to Jiraiya, "I don't believe we have met."

"I am no other than the..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know who you are." A cut him off, not willing to hear him go on about how he was the all powerful Master Jiraiya, "You are one of the leaf's legendary Sannin, same as Tsunade here isn't that so Jiraiya?"

"That's right but I'm also the..."

"So Tsunade," The Raikage started, again cutting off Jiraiya's introduction, "I trust my accommodations have been comfortable."

She stared at him with total annoyance. There he was again, trying to seem as if his village was the best in the world. She wouldn't allow him to have his undeserved glory, "It's okay I guess but this couch is somewhat lumpy."

He gasped and before he went off on an angry rampage induced by Tsunade insulting his couch, he sucked in some air, trying his best to calm himself, "Everybody is entitled to their own opinions but I assure you that my couch is not lumpy."

"Whatever Raikage." She rolled her eyes, "Tell me, where the hell are the others?"

From the very first day A met Tsunade, she made herself known as someone who did not accept stupidity, was impatient and had a nasty temper. She was showing up her true personality and the Raikage just smirked at this.

"The Mizukage and the Kazekage have arrived and are in the conference room where the meeting will be held. We're just waiting on the Tsuchikage now."

Tsunade grumbled and cursed under her breath, "That damn old man, who does he think he is making all of us wait like this?"

"He should be here shortly. Therefore, you should follow me into the conference room to be seated so that the meeting can begin as soon as he arrives."

"Yeah, yeah, let's go." Tsunade got out of her seat and began to follow the Raikage before turning around to tell Jiraiya to follow them, "Hey escort!"

Jiraiya turned around with a cheese sandwich stuffed into his mouth and crumbs all over his face. He swallowed hard and brushed away the crumbs, "Yes?"

"We're going to the conference room."

"Oh right!" He said and followed them after gulping down a glass of water and stuffing a few more sandwiches into his mouth. He really did enjoy the refreshments.

* * *

Tsunade walked into the room to see her fellow female Kage, the Mizukage Mei seated at the wide table accompanied by the youngest of them all, Kazekage Gaara. Tsunade took her seat that was reserved for her right beside the Mizukage. The other escorts stood beside their respective Kages.

"I don't believe we have met before Lady Tsunade." Mei started while smiling gracefully at Tsunade, "I'm Mei the Mizukage. Nice to meet you." Mei extended her hand out wards for a handshake.

"Nice to meet you too." Tsunade took her hand into hers and gave it a gentle shake.

"I don't believe we have met either." Gaara added, "I'm Gaara, the Kazekage."

Tsunade looked at him dumbfounded. He was no older than Naruto and yet he was sitting there as the leader of the Sand. He must be an excellent Shinobi and have the utmost respect from all his villagers to be their Kazekage despite his age, "You're the Kazekage?! But you're only a child."

"It is true that I am young but I assure you that I am just as qualified to be a Kage as you and our other comrades. I only ask that you treat me the same as you treat them Lady Hokage."

The Raikage took his seat at the head of the table and Jiraiya stood beside Tsunade. The rest of the wait was silent and boring. Jiraiya wanted to fall asleep but he tried his best to keep his eyes open. Tsunade however, was too busy thinking to fall asleep.

After a few moments of silent waiting, the Tsuchikage finally arrived. He was a short old man with a grumpy persona but he was no doubt the best Shinobi in the Hidden Rock Village. He was seated next to Gaara and greeted him with the same reaction as Tsunade upon learning that he is the Kazekage, he already knew the Raikage, he greeted Mei and laughed when his eyes made contact with Tsunade, "Princess Tsunade is that you?!"

"In the flesh old man." She said annoyed. Tsunade knew this man from when she was a little girl. He came to the Leaf Village for a political meeting with her sensei and ever since then he called her princess.

"I knew that you became the Hokage but I didn't expect you to look so good." He said as his eyes wandered down to her chest.

"Perverted old man!" Tsunade was about to get out of her seat and give the old man a piece of her mind for staring and her chest but was pulled back by Jiraiya. The Mizukage chuckled which caused her to receive a deadly glare, courtesy of the Hokage.

"Okay, okay, enough of that. Let's get this meeting started." The Raikage said in an attempt to settle things, "As you all know the Akatsuki poses as a major threat to not only the villages that hold the tail beasts, those being The Hidden Leaf Village and right here in the Hidden Cloud Village but the entire ninja world. The Akatsuki are strong. We are even in the presence of a man who went up against the leader of the organization and almost died trying to defeat him. We must come up with a plan to stop them but in the meantime we must discover a way to keep the jinchurikis out of harm's way."

"I agree, if they stay in their respective villages, they are putting the lives of all the citizens in danger. The Akatsuki could come at any moment to try to take them." The Mizukage added.

"So what do you intend to do? We can't just lock Naruto and Bee away." Tsunade interjected.

"Perhaps that is what we must do." The Tsuchikage suggested, "But they must be hidden in a place that nobody knows about. That way they can be safe."

Tsunade did not like the idea of locking Naruto away, secluding him from his home and all his friends. He was a jinchuriki but he was a person as well. A person that Tsunade held close to her heart as he reminded her of her dear younger brother, "That doesn't guarantee that the Akatsuki won't come looking for them. If you ask me, I think we should just leave them where they are but assign them to many missions, keep them active. That way the Akatsuki won't be able to track their movements. Knowing how Naruto is, he will not want to stay locked up until we can get the Akatsuki under control. He'll find a way to bust out, and when he does he'll take Bee along with him. I'm sorry but that plan makes absolutely no sense."

"Hokage, you're the only one who feels that way." The Raikage stated.

"No. I agree with her. As a former jinchuriki, I know how Naruto and Bee feel. I for sure would not want to be locked away. We are not mere vessels for demons. We are people as well, people with feelings. I also know Naruto quite well, I even consider him as one of my friends so I know that he would not appreciate that. Even your brother Bee would not want that. I believe that we should do as the Hokage suggested."

Tsunade looked at Gaara with a gentle smile on her face. At least somebody agreed with her. Naruto really did have loyal friends.

"On second thought, I agree with the Hokage as well. They are people after all. Keeping them busy on missions will indeed make it difficult for the organization to track them. Either way, we cannot guarantee that the Akatsuki will not show up in the villages. We just have to be ready for their attack." Mei said.

"Princess Tsunade, Raikage, ready your villages and ninjas for an Akatsuki attack. They can show up at any time and you must be ready." The Tsuchikage said.

They nodded in union.

"Well Tsunade, it looks like you managed to get all of us on your side." The Raikage said, "Meeting a juried."

* * *

The meeting ended and each Kage headed back to their respective village. Tsunade and Jiraiya went back to the inn to gather their items so that they could go home. Jiraiya was pleased with how the meeting turned out. Naruto could still stay in the village and be happy with his friends. He knew Tsunade had a special place in her heart reserved for Naruto and she even thought of him as her own grandson. That was a coincidence because Jiraiya thought of Naruto as his grandson as well. He was a special boy who had a bright future ahead of him.

"You were like a shark in there hime. I'm impressed." He smiled while giving her an approving pat on her shoulder.

"I couldn't just stand by and allow them to isolate Naruto. We need him in the village. Things just wouldn't be the same around there without him."

"You really like him don't you."

"He reminds me of Nawaki, I can't help but like him. Also he's a good kid."

"I have to agree with that. He's the splitting image of Minato and is just like Kushina."

"Now I have to agree with that. If only they were still here to see how much his son has grown. They would be proud."

"Indeed."

They entered their room in the inn and started to gather their belongings. Jiraiya realized that his personal mission for this trip was a complete and utter failure. He wanted to straighten things out with Tsunade so that they could be a couple again. If anything, all he did was push her further away from him. What a waste...

_"Why did it take me so long to give in and allow myself to love you?" Tsunade said as she nuzzled her nose on Jiraiya's stubble-free cheek, "We've wasted so much time."_

_They were wrapped in each other's embrace in bed with nothing on but the sheets that covered them. A few minutes of intimacy left them living in complete bliss. It was their first time and the best they have ever experienced. It was as if their bodies were made for each other as they fit perfectly together to make one. Physics was wrong; they proved that two people can occupy the same space at one time. Soft, gentle caresses, sweet passionate kisses and satisfying sounds of complete pleasure and ecstasy filled their night and neither of them wanted to stop. _

_Jiraiya placed a tender kiss right on Tsunade diamond that sat directly on her forehead. That was his favorite spot to kiss other than her perfectly molded lips, "I don't know hime but I'm glad you did."_

_Tsunade smiled innocently and whispered, "I'm glad I did too." In his ear that sent shivers running down his spine._

_He grabbed her arms and placed her on top of him effortlessly. She laughed at how light she was compared to him. He placed his head on the back of her head and gently pulled her down so that their lips could meet once again. He poured everything into that kiss. All the years of him waiting on her and secretly loving her was put into it. She smiled while participating in the kiss and realized that they were perfect together. When air became a necessity they pulled apart and panted slightly. Tsunade put her head down on his bare chest and placed a tender kiss on it that caused goosebumps to emerge on his flesh, "I love you Jiraiya."_

_"I love you too hime. Always have and always will."_

_She smiled once again. She was doing a lot of smiling that night. They allowed sleep to claim them in that position, with Tsunade's slim figure resting on top of Jiraiya's muscular body. This is where they both belonged. Right there, holding each other and never letting go..._

Suddenly there was a loud crash and the window of the room shattered into tiny pieces. In the shattered mess, a masked ninja dressed in full black stood before the Sannin. He held a long blade in his hand and was full of evil intent. He then charged towards Tsunade and was ready to pierce her heart with the blade until Jiraiya rushed in front of it and took the blow for her. The blade pierced his abdomen and he coughed up blood.

"JIRAIYA!"

The ninja pulled the blade out of the Sannin and looked at the other one. Jiraiya's wounded body dropped to the floor, bleeding profusely and Tsunade looked down at him in complete horror. Her mind brought her back to the time when she thought he died and she did not want to relive those horrible days of her life. Those days were filled with heartache, sorrow and depression. Life without Jiraiya was not a life at all. She then glared at the masked man and jumped into the air, lifting her foot in a vertical manner and came crashing down on top of him, crushing his body. The wooden floor was completely destroyed but caused no damage to the other rooms since it was on the bottom floor. The man died on contact with Tsunade's massive strength. She then rushed over to Jiraiya and immediately gave him medical attention. The wound was deep so that was dangerous to his life but Tsunade did what she could to save him. His breathing became shallow and his life was slipping away. Tears emerged in her eyes and she begged him, pleaded for him to stay with her, "Baby please don't die, stay with me you can't die. Baby please open your eyes!" But no answer came. The only things that could be heard were the sobs of the world renowned medic as she tried so desperately to make the toad sage live...

* * *

**Cliffhanger!**

**I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while but that is because I was extremely busy with my exams but they are over now! That means I can direct all my attention to this fanfiction and another one that I am working on. Well, until I have exams again in May.**

**What will happen to Jiraiya?! Gah! **

**Thanks so much for reading, reviewing and following this story. **

**The next chapter will be out soon so keep looking out for it.**

**Bye bye!**


	6. Sorrowful Tears

_I felt my life slip away and I watched as my soul left my body. Such a strange feeling, witnessing yourself depart from your world, leaving behind all the things you know and all the people you truly care about. As I began to float towards salvation, I looked back for a minute to take one last look at the love of my life. She was distraught, with a never ending stream of fresh tears running rapidly down her reddened cheeks. If I were alive and if my heart was still intact it would have broken, killing me once again. I'm so sick of disappointing her and causing her so much unnecessary pain. She deserves more than that and I was not worthy of being loved by her._

_This is not how things between Jiraiya the gallant and Tsunade the fifth Hokage should end. But here I am, dead and there she is, lonely once again. I was given another chance at life and I messed it up so bad. The thought of not being with Tsunade every day, not seeing her smile, her beautiful face and hear her perfect voice was painful. When the reality of it started to sink in, even I, the strong Sannin Jiraiya, could not hold back the tears._

_How did my second chance at life end up like this? I was supposed to make everything better but I ended up making it a million times worse. I deserved all of this but Tsunade, all she wanted was for someone to love her and be there for her. She didn't deserve this pain. I was able to do that for her, to be her soldier for three months until I screwed everything up. I couldn't take my eyes off of her. The forces were pulling me towards Heaven but I was fighting to stay, to silently observe her for eternity. My time was running out, as the forces grew stronger and stronger with each passing moment. There were so many things I wanted to say to her, so many things I wanted to do but I couldn't. My spirit already left my body. Tsunade was now crying over a lifeless slab of flesh and bones. Her attempts at saving me were futile. I was not going to come back._

_"I didn't expect to see you back here Jiraiya." I looked at my sensei with open eyes. The fact that I was seeing him, in his spiritual form confirmed that I was indeed a spirit as well, "What happened?"_

_I stopped looking at him and focused my eyes on the weeping blonde below, "I screwed up big time sensei. I ruined everything with Tsunade and now I'm dead and she's alone. I won't be getting another chance to return right?"_

_"I'm sorry but to be brought back from the dead is a once in a lifetime opportunity."He looked at her as well and I could tell that the very sight of his former student crying hysterically and trying so desperately to save me deeply hurt him. He helped me return to my life to prevent this and I ruined every thing. How could I face him without feeling absolute disgrace and shame, "I'm sorry sensei."_

_Sarutobi sensei said nothing but just looked at me with sincerity on his face. That expression changed when a simple smile appeared on his face, "She loves you, you know."_

_Love me? How could she still love me after everything I put her through?, "She used to." Tears sprung into my eyes once again when I remembered that I could no longer be with her, "This is all my fault. I shouldn't have done what I did. I'm so stupid to allow the best thing that ever happened to me walk away."_

_"You idiot. If she didn't love you, she wouldn't be crying or still trying to heal you right now." He placed his glowing hand upon my shoulder, "Stop crying boy. You're going to return to her."_

_I wiped away my tears and turned to my sensei,"But how can you do that?"_

_"You underestimate me Jiraiya. I wasn't the third Hokage for nothing you know. I'll transfer my spiritual chakra to you and guide your spirit into your body. I must perform this jutsu right away though before Tsunade stops working on you. Due to the injury that you sustained it is a possibility that this jutsu may not work so she must continue to heal you to increase the chances of it being a success." He explained, "I came here to tell you two things. The first thing is that the ninja who attacked you is just a disgruntled ninja from one of the minor lands. He's not a threat since our dear Tsunade killed him. The second is not to mess it up this time. I can only perform this once so don't die. I just want my students to be happy. That's all."_

_"Ok, I will. I've learned my lesson sensei and this time I won't mess it up."_

_"Very well. Let's get this jutsu started then."_

...

There he lay on the cold, hard ground, a motionless slab, unable to do anything or say anything. The only thing he could do at that moment was to cause his healer pain and suffering. She focused her chakra onto her palms and directed the flow into his wound. She worked and worked, using up a significant amount of her chakra until her worst nightmare became a reality.

His breathing shallowed until his chest stopped rising and falling. His heart failed him. There was no pulse. He was dead. It is a rule for all medical ninjas not to give up on their injured comrade until their heart stops beating. Tsunade knew this rule especially since she was the one who formulated the three rules for all medics. If the heart beat of a patient ceased to exist then the medic should stop their flow of chakra. This is necessary to conserve the chakra they had left in case of an attack or if another one of their comrades became injured. There was no telling if the ninja who attacked them had allies who could be on their way. Chakra exhaustion was also a dangerous possibility in her case. Reluctantly, Tsunade ceased her chakra for her own well being.

She stared at his lifeless body before her. There will be no more days of him crawling into her office through the window, no more of his annoying introductions or perverted comments, no more Jiraiya... She laid down next to him on the cold floor and wrapped her arm around one of his. She snuggled closer to him, not feeling the usual heat radiating off of his body and onto hers but being this close to him served as a comfort that she needed. Her head rested upon his shoulder, her fresh hot tears soaking the fabric of his shirt. She wanted to stay in that position for the rest of her life, only she wished that she could listen to the sounds of his breathing and feel the rise and fall of his chest beneath her head. That would have made that moment perfect but nothing at all was perfect about this. She forgave him for all that happened between them after seeing him take a major stab wound for her but she was too late. He was gone and never coming back.

"I'm sorry Jiraiya, I'm sorry I couldn't save you." She cried, still clinging to him, "I love you baby, I love you so, so ,much. I wish you were still here with me so I could tell you that over and over. And I forgive you. I guess I forgave you long ago but I couldn't admit it. I was too late. I'm always too late and now you're gone. Why did you take that wound for me dummy? I didn't want you to do that!"

_Sarutobi was confident that Jiraiya would keep his promise to him and ensure that everything worked out between him and Tsunade. He made some hand signals and transferred his chakra to Jiraiya. After that was done, he smiled one last time at his student, "Take care of her."_

_He guided Jiraiya's spirit into his lifeless body that Tsunade was working on, still crying and continuously asking him to stay with her. His spirit returned to his body but there was no guarantee that it would be a success. The wound Jiraiya suffered was extremely serious so unless Tsunade could heal his body to the point where he would not be in a critical condition upon returning to life, his spirit could leave his body again and that would be the end of a failed plan._

_"I did what I had to do for you Jiraiya. Let's just hope it worked because that was all I got." Sarutobi used up all of his spiritual chakra to help his student. Now that he was completely out of chakra, his spirit returned to Heaven where he would continue to live in salvation._

"I did it because I love you." Jiraiya said with one eye open, "I thought you knew that already."

Tsunade saw as his chest moved up and down in a regular pattern. He was alive but to confirm it she checked his pulse and realized that it was strong and steady. Tears of joy emerged in her eyes and she wrapped her arms around his damaged body, "I don't understand how you're alive, I felt your heart stop." She said through tears, her body shaking furiously with each sob.

"I guess I'm just physically unable to stay away from you. Sorry." His voice was still shaky and weak.

"You dummy! I never want you to stay away from me again! Do you understand me?"

Jiraiya lifted his hand up to her face to brush away her fallen tears with the pad of his thumb, "I understand."

"Good." She bent down towards him so that her face was in a close proximity to his. Her lips brushed gently over his before she crashed them down on top of his and poured all of her passion for him into the kiss. Tongues tangled, both fighting for control until air became a necessity and they broke away, gasping for air.

"I guess you forgive me now." He panted.

"Of course I forgive you." She smiled and then saw him squirm in pain. His wound was closed up but it was painful to move around. She was more than capable of taking care of him on her own but she needed the assistance of other medical ninja in case an emergency were to arise and her chakra was running low. She needed to send a message to Shizune as quickly as possible but unfortunately her summoned animal, Katsuyu could not deliver a message unless another clone of herself was in the company of Shizune. One of Jiraiya's toads was needed to get the job done but in order for that to happen, Jiraiya had to summon him. He was in so much discomfort that it made Tsunade feel bad for having to ask him to use up some of his chakra to summon a toad but it had to be done, "Jiraiya, I hate to ask you to do this but you need to summon one of your toads so that I can deliver a message to Shizune."

"This message must be important." He started before biting the tip of his thumb to allow some blood to run out in order to perform his jutsu, "I'll try my best." He swiped his thumb onto the palm of his other hand, made a few hand signs and placed his palm on the ground, "Summoning jutsu!"

A small messenger toad emerged from the smoke created by Jiraiya's jutsu. Tsunade quickly retrieved a scroll form his travel bag and composed her message to Shizune...

_Shizune,_

_The meeting went smoothly but then everything went downhill from there when we returned to the inn afterwards. A random ninja attacked us, stabbed Jiraiya and left him in a critical state. I managed to kill him with one blow. Jiraiya's heart stopped but he miraculously came back to life. He is however, in a state of extreme discomfort._

_I need you to come to the inn just outside the Hidden Cloud Village and take with you any other available medical ninja as soon as possible._

_-Tsunade._

_P.S. bring some cash with you so that we can pay off the inn keeper for the damage done to the room._

She rolled the scroll and handed it to the toad, "Go to the Hidden Leaf Village, straight to the Hokage mansion and give this to Shizune."

The frog accepted the message and disappeared in smoke as he left the two Sannin.

"I sent for Shizune. Knowing her, she'll be here in no time."

"This pain is unbearable, can you make it stop?"

"I must have some medicine with me that can ease the pain." She searched around in her bag and came across a small pill that she developed herself that depresses any kind of pain. It didn't completely get rid of it but it would surely help him, "Take this." She handed him the pill and he quickly swallowed it whole, "It'll help with that pain. Just try to relax."

"Thank you." He closed his eyes and tried his best not to think about the pain.

"Don't you want to go up on the bed?"

"It hurts too much to move. Right here on the ground is fine for now."

Tsunade retrieved two pillows and some blankets from the bed, placed a fluffy pillow under his head and placed the other one beside him. She then laid down on the unoccupied pillow and covered them both with a warm blanket.

"You don't have to sleep on the ground too you know."

"I know that but I want to stay down here with you. I want to be right next to you like you have always been right next to me, through good times and bad." She kissed his lips lightly and settled in for bed, "Try to get some sleep, the medicine should kick in momentarily."

"Alright. I love you."

"I love you too."

Jiraiya was always there for her, standing right beside her no matter how painful it was to him or how unwanted his presence was. There would be no day that could pass without him knowing that she was alright. She meant the world and more to him so he would ensure that no harm came to her. That's the reason why he jumped in front of her, taking the injury for her. If that blade pierced her body and if she died, life would not be worth living for him. He would die along with her, die of a broken heart.

It was Tsunade's turn to be there for him and to protect him no matter what. She would be there for him, helping him recover the best she could. She would ease his pain and be his shoulder to cry on. Throughout the years that she knew Jiraiya, it was always him protecting her despite the fact that she didn't need to be protected. she always used to treat him worse than dirt and she regretted it. She should have been kinder to him and tell him everyday how much he meant to her. She would not make that mistake again, after feeling his heart stop. No matter what happened, she vowed that she would be there, never leaving him ever again.

**I'm sorry it took so long to upload this.**

**This chapter is shorter than the other chapters but just as effective.**

**Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the next chapter!**


	7. I'll Help You

Shizune was busy working at Tsunade's desk. The workload wasn't as much since the other nations were without their Kages at the moment due to the meeting but there were still mission reports to be signed off. So far everything was running smoothly in the leaf village. All the citizens knew that their Hokage was gone for a few days and that Shizune was in charge so they tried their best to be considerate. Everyone respected Shizune since she was the closest to Tsunade and also because she shows everybody respect. Ever since she was a child, she was always a respectful person. That is because her uncle told her that if she showed respect she would be respected in return. That life lesson stuck with her to this very day.

Suddenly a small puff of smoke emerged on the desk and a toad emerged out of it holding a small scroll in its mouth. She took the scroll from the toad and saw that it was an urgent message from Tsunade. She read through it quickly and gasped at what she read, "Genma! Please come here!"

Upon hearing the Hokage's assistant's shout, Genma was in the office in a matter of seconds, awaiting the instructions that Shizune had for him, "What's up Shizune?"

"Lady Tsunade sent word that Jiraiya has been severely wounded. He is alive but is in a bad shape. She is requesting my presence along with another medical ninja. I need you to find any available medic and tell him to come here immediately. This is an emergency so be quick about it."

"Right away Shizune."

"Thank you Genma."

* * *

"You're recovering nicely Lee but next time don't be so reckless. When training you should not over exert yourself!" Sakura scolded. Lee was doing his daily training but overdid it as usual. Usually he would escape the wrath of overworking himself but this time he ended up with a twisted ankle and a few cuts and bruises. Sakura was passing by the training grounds when she saw Lee injured on the ground. Being a medic, she performed some healing techniques on him then took him to the hospital so that he could rest until he was fully recovered. Lee was not the type of person to want to stay in bed. That is more like Shikamaru's style since he is the most lazy ninja out of their year group.

"Not to worry Sakura, these injuries are nothing! I must get out of this hospital right away to resume my training with Guy sensei!"

"Idiot! You aren't going anywhere until you are fully recovered! As a medical ninja I know what I'm talking about and since you are not a medic you should shut up and do as I say!" She wore an angry expression on her face, just as scary as Tsunade's famous death glare.

"Y-Yes Sakura. I'll do as I'm told." Lee shivered with fear. He knew not to mess with Sakura since she had a nasty temper.

"I thought so."

"Excuse me." Genma said while peeping through the crack in the door.

"Come in."

He entered the room and Sakura bowed respectfully while Lee smiled, "Sakura, is Lee your patient?"

"No, I just brought him here. His nurse went to get his lunch."

"So you aren't busy at the moment?"

"No, not right now."

"Then come with me." He grabbed her hand and led her out the room much to her surprise.

"Where are we going?"

"To the Hokage mansion. Shizune was sent a letter from Lady Tsunade and is requesting your presence as soon as possible."

"From Lady Hokage? Is everything okay?"

"Shizune will tell you everything once you get there."

* * *

Naruto was in his usual spot at Ichiraku Ramen. Since Jiraiya bailed on him for his current mission and Kakashi always seemed to be busy, he was left alone. He was obviously disgruntled by the constant neglect that he was receiving from his sensei. He was supposed to be training daily and brushing up on his Justus but instead he was abandoned, "This absolutely sucks! How am I supposed to get stronger and become the Hokage at this rate?!" He complained with food in his mouth and sauce dripping down his lips and soiling his clothes. He lifted the bowl to his mouth and drank the contents within with one gulp. He let out a satisfied sigh, "Old man, another bowl!"

"Are you sure Naruto? This will be your sixth bowl." Ayame, the owner's daughter who worked there asked. She was very familiar with Naruto and his eating habits since he was an every day visitor. She noticed that he was overdoing it today and knew it was because he had nobody to train him.

"Of course I am. I came here to eat!"

The ramen shop owner just smiled at Naruto's greed and at the fact that the boy was filling his wallet more and more each day that he was not training, "Coming up sonny!"

After a few more bowls, Naruto was filled to the brim. He was so full that he could barely move and he felt slightly ill. He paid his bill, emptying his pocket to cover it. It was an expensive yet delicious lunch. He waddled out the shop and stopped right in front of it, trying to figure out what he should do next. He was too stuffed to go to the sweets shop down the road to eat dessert and he felt too uncomfortable and lazy to do any training. Suddenly he saw a flash of pink hair before his eyes and noticed that his teammate Sakura was being led in the direction of the Hokage mansion by one of the most trusted Hokage assistants, Genma. He wondered if she had a mission so decided to follow behind in hopes that he would be able to go as well. He hasn't been out of the village in quite a while and was starting to get stir crazy. Plus he was running low on money due to his constant visits to Ichiraku Ramen, "Hey Sakura, wait up!"

He started to run towards them and upon hearing his familiar voice, they stopped and waited for him to catch up, "Naruto, I can't stay here and chat I have to go to Shizune immediately."

"Shizune? Why?"

Sakura was clearly annoyed with him and Genma was just anxious to get Sakura into the mansion. After all it was an emergency letter that they received from their Hokage and Naruto was holding them up, "You idiot! I'm going to her because she sent for me." She started to walk again and he followed behind, "Lady Tsunade sent a letter and apparently it's urgent so stop delaying me!"

"Urgent?" He became excited upon hearing the word 'urgent'. It was as if he lived for high adrenaline situations, "I'll come with you then! Maybe I can get in on the action!"

"Whatever. Just don't get in my or Shizune's way."

They entered the mansion and went straight to Tsunade's office. Shizune was in the same position Genma had left her in but this time, less sheets of papers were in front of her. She worked quickly and efficiently.

"You wanted to see me Shizune?" Sakura asked. Shizune smiled upon seeing that she was the available medical ninja. Surely Tsunade would be happy to have both her students with her, helping her to ensure that Jiraiya is strong enough to return to the village. Shizune also thought of Sakura as a younger sister and often taught her certain things in the healing arts that Tsunade didn't. After all, that's what sibling students do.

"That's correct Sakura." Shizune also noticed Naruto's presence and wondered why he was in attendance, "It's not that I'm not happy to see you Naruto but, what are you doing here?"

His lips curled into a wide smile and his hands rested on his hips, "I just came to receive my mission!"

"Your mission? Naruto, nobody called you to receive a mission! I only requested Sakura!"

Sakura grabbed Naruto by his shirt and wrapped her arm around his neck. She punched his head repeatedly as if to knock some sense into him. She hated how stupid he could be at times and cringed at how enthusiastic and eager he was. It wasn't a bad thing to be so eager but sometimes it was inappropriate, "Naruto you idiot! Didn't I tell you not to get in our way?!" She let go of him, leaving him with a swelling bump on his head, "I apologize for his stupidity Shizune. Trust me, I didn't tell him to follow me, he came on his own."

Shizune sighed, 'The things Lady Tsunade has to deal with on a daily basis...', "It's okay Sakura, don't worry about it." She handed her the note Tsunade sent and began to explain, "As you know, Lady Tsunade and Master Jiraiya left the village a few days ago to journey to the Hidden Cloud Village for the annual Kage meeting. The meeting went smoothly but then, as they were about to begin their journey home, they were attacked by a random ninja. Lady Tsunade was not injured but Jiraiya was severely wounded. Lady Tsunade wants you and me to go to the inn she is staying at just outside the Cloud Village to assist her with Master Jiraiya until he is capable of traveling home without further injuring himself."

"The Pervy sage?!" Naruto was shocked when he heard that his master was put in a near death experience because of some random ninja that was probably not even in the same league as him, "How dare that low life hurt Pervy sage! Shizune, you gotta let me go so I can give that guy a piece of my mind!"

"Naruto, that is not why Lady Tsunade is requesting my presence and Sakura's. She said nothing about you going anyway!"

"I don't care! Pervy sage is hurt and needs my help!" Jiraiya was truly special to Naruto. He was like family to him. Since Naruto never knew what it was like to have a family, he would do anything to protect the people he considered as family, "He's my teacher, I can't just leave him alone and do nothing to help him."

"Naruto, Lady Tsunade is with him plus Shizune and I will be there as well. Nothing will happen to him under our care!"

"Don't you get it Sakura? I have to be there for him. Even if I can't help him get better because I don't have a clue about medical ninjutsu, I still have to be with him, to lend him my support."

Shizune could see that going on this mission meant the world to him so she agreed to let him tag along. She just hoped that Tsunade would be okay with it, "Okay Naruto, you can come."

His serious expression turned into a happy one. He ran over to Shizune and gave her a tight hug in order to let her know how appreciative he was, "Thanks Shizune!"

"Just don't get in our way bird brain." Sakura stated with folded arms, "By the way Shizune, Lady Tsunade left you in charge correct?"

"Yes that's right. What about it?"

"If you're going on this mission then who will watch over the village in your absence?"

"No need to worry about that. I already have a jounin on the job."

Kakashi entered the room as of on cue and all eyes turned to him, "Shizune, I just got back from my mission and now I have to play it Hokage for a few days? Why can't I ever get a break?" He sighed. He has been working a lot lately and desperately yearned for a few days off. However, that seemed almost impossible since he was constantly being assigned missions.

"A valued Shinobi like you doesn't get much breaks but that shouldn't bother you." Shizune smiled.

'But it does...' , "I guess I have to do what I have to do. How long will you be gone?"

"The time frame in which I will be away from the village isn't certain yet. We will keep in touch though through either Master Jiraiya's toads or carrier birds."

"Alright then. Safe travels."

"Thanks Kakashi." Shizune looked at her watch and saw that they had to leave immediately and at a high speed to get to Tsunade as quickly as possible. She turned to her travel companions, "Naruto, Sakura, we must leave right away."

"Right!" The teammates said in union and they ran out the office with their captain Shizune.

'Don't worry Pervy sage, we're on our way.'

* * *

Jiraiya opened his eyes to see a familiar blonde sitting beside him. She smiled upon seeing his black orbs and bent down to place a small kiss on his thin lips. He smiled upon receiving that precious gesture, "Nice to finally see you awake, it's noon."

He tried to sit up but winced in pain. His body was still severely hurt so the slightest movement caused him unbearable pain, "Don't try to sit up dummy!" She scolded, "You will be in pain like that for a few more days so don't push yourself. Give your body time to heal on its own."

"This is excruciating pain." He muttered out. He was still weak so even speaking took a lot out of him, "Isn't there anything you can do?"

She dug around in her bag and found a few more pills that suppressed pain, "I gave you one of these pills last night and it managed to reduce your pain level for a few hours. You can take another one but you have to eat something before."

"So, get me something to eat. They must have something in the lobby to eat."

She looked at him lost for words, "This is a one star inn Jiraiya, not a five star hotel."

He grumbled and looked around the room. There was a small kitchen in the corner of the room, "There's a stove here, cook me something."

"Dummy! You know damn well that I can't cook. Unless you want food poising on top of excruciating pain, I wouldn't suggest that I cook."

She was right, the last time she cooked for him, he spent a week with his head in the toilet, throwing up all the contents in his stomach. He felt like crap that entire week. After that experience he never asked her to cook for him again. But because he was in a lot of pain, he just wanted something to eat in order for him to take the pill and ease his pain, "So what am I going to eat?"

"I suppose I can buy something but it could take a while since I'm not familiar with this place."

"Just hurry up!"

"Alright, alright!" She grabbed his wallet out of his bag, "But I'm using your cash."

* * *

Shizune and her team were running through the forest, jumping over trees at a high speed in order to aid Tsunade. She wondered if they were alright, if they got rid of their attacker and if everything worked out in their relationship. She was eager to get there for all her questions to be answered.

Sakura ran up close to Shizune so that they were running side by side, "Hey Shizune?"

She looked beside her to see the younger woman, "Yes Sakura?"

"Do you know if Lady Tsunade and Master Jiraiya got back together?"

She looked ahead of her again and gently shook her head, "I'm not sure Sakura, Lady Tsunade did not include that in her letter. I hope so though."

"Hey guys don't leave me out of the conversation!" Naruto called from behind.

Sakura looked behind her and gave him a deadly glare, one that caused him to trip and fall to the ground, "Ow!"

Shizune heard the collision and stopped to see what happened. Naruto was faced down on the ground in a comical position. She couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle.

"A... Little... Help... Here." Naruto choked out, still on the ground.

"Come on Sakura, let's help him up." Shizune said between chuckles.

"Huh? No way! He can get up himself!" She said stubbornly.

"You're the one who caused him to trip so you need to help him get up and apologize."

As much as she didn't want to, she did as she was told because Shizune was their team captain and she had respect for her not only as Tsunade's right hand but as her older sibling student, "Okay fine, let's help the moron up." She sighed and the two women went to Naruto to help him get up. Shizune took hold of his right arm and Sakura held the other one. Together they lifted him to his feet. His face was covered in dirt and he had a cut on his shoulder. Shizune quickly healed him, wiped his face and looked to Sakura, silently telling her to apologize, "I'm sorry Naruto."

"No problem Sakura! I was being clumsy anyway." He smiled. There wasn't a bone in his body that held grudges against others. As long as people apologized to him, he forgave them right away. That was one of his many good qualities, "What were you two talking about anyway? If it had anything to do with feminine problems please don't tell me."

"We were just wondering if Master Jiraiya and Lady Tsunade got back together." Shizune explained.

"I hope not." Naruto said and earned two shocked expressions from the women, "It's just that when the Pervy sage wasn't with granny, he had more time to train me. If he has the time to train me more since he broke up with her then I'll get stronger and stronger and become the Hokage in a blink of an eye!" He smiled.

Shizune and Sakura looked at each other and nodded in agreement at their silent plan. They both whacked the blonde in the head.

"OW! WHAT WAS THAT FOR GUYS?!"

"FOR BEING AN IDIOT!"

* * *

"I'm back!" Tsunade said while entering the room with a brown paper bag in her hand that carried a box of food. It took her some time to find a shop that sold food so she returned to the inn later than expected, "I finally found a shop so I got you something to eat." She sat beside him and opened the box of food to reveal two fried eggs, sunny side up, bacon and some toast. She also had a carton of milk in the bag, "It's not very healthy but it was the best I could find. This is a crappy town after all." She handed him the fork and noticed that picking up the food with the utensil and placing it in his mouth proved to be a difficulty for him, "Here let me help." She said as she took the fork from his hand. She cut the egg in small pieces and placed one in his mouth. He smiled because she was feeding him. He then started to laugh and a few pieces of food flew out of his mouth and onto his chin. Tsunade grumbled and wiped the food off his chin with a napkin, "I feel like I'm feeding a baby."

"Come to think of it hime, you have never fed me before." He said before accepting more food in his mouth

"That's because your a grown ass man!"

He swallowed the food, "You have to admit that it is kinda romantic."

"There's nothing romantic about me wiping your chin." She said as she held the fork up to his mouth once again, "Now shut up and eat."

He did as he was told and ate his food. After he was finished, she opened the carton of milk, placed a straw in it and held it to his mouth so that he could drink. She then placed the pill in his mouth and he swallowed it whole.

The pain medication started to kick in and he could finally lift himself off the ground. He has been lying there since he received his wound so his clothes and hair were bloody. He felt gross. He liked to be clean and smell good so he wanted to take a shower, "Ummm, Tsunade?"

Tsunade was busy feeding herself. She hasn't eaten anything all day because she was busy waiting on him to get up, then she went out to get something for him to eat and then fed him. She felt like she was taking care of a child, "What's wrong? Are you feeling any pain?"

"No, it's just that... Well.."

"Just spit it out. What is it?"

"Well I want to take a bath. I feel gross and my clothes and hair are covered in blood."

Tsunade looked at him and noticed that he looked a little grungy indeed, "Okay then go take a bath. I'll wait out here for you."

He started to blush a bit because he did not know how she would react to his request, "I was wondering if you could... Ummm... If you could help me?" He had no problems whatsoever with her seeing him naked. After all, he has been intimate with her before so it was nothing to him. However, he thought that she would have a problem and possibly knock him out for his request.

She started to blush furiously and sweat started to arise on her brow. Hr heart was pounding in her chest and she had no idea why. She has seen him in the nude many times but for some reason she felt like the situation would be awkward despite the fact that they were a couple once again, "Oh... Ummm... Well... Do you really need my help?"

"Yeah... I mean, I am still weak, especially my arms but if you don't want to then that's okay. I'll just do my best on my own, no need to worry about it." He said awkwardly and started in the direction of the bathroom.

Tsunade knew that he would be unable to manage due to the fact that his body was still weak. She felt bad and didn't want him to struggle to do a simple task as cleaning oneself so she decided to push away all her feelings of discomfort and awkwardness and help him, "No that's okay Jiraiya, I'll help you."

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yup." She said as she entered the bathroom, "Come on."

He followed her inside and shut the door behind him. The air was still and tense as the two of them stood in the small bathroom. They were both nervous to begin but it was extremely awkward just standing there, staring into each other's eyes so Tsunade spoke up, "You should get undressed now."

"Right." He lifted his arms to remove his shirt but a sharp pain ran through his body that prevented him to do so.

Tsunade saw him cringe in pain and her heart started to pound even faster. She knew that she had to help him get undressed. She breathed in some air as if to calm herself and placed her fingers on the hem of his shirt, "I'll help you out of your clothes."

Jiraiya gulped, trying to keep his composure but it was difficult for him to do so after feeling her feminine fingers graze his flesh in an attempt to rid him of his shirt. She lifted the material over his head and off his body. She took in a sharp breath upon seeing his toned body. She loved how fit he was despite his age. His muscles were defined and that drove her crazy. She discarded the shirt on the ground and blushed upon realizing that she had to remove his pants next.

Jiraiya noticed her obvious discomfort so offered to do it himself, "I'll do that Tsunade."

"No, it's fine." She didn't want him to over exert himself since his body was still weak. Even the slightest of movement would result in a significant amount of pain. She could tell that standing alone was taking a lot out of him. She breathed in deeply and placed her fingers on the waist if his pants. They went down to his button and skilled hands popped it open in no time. She pulled the zipper down and Jiraiya was having a hard time to keep it cool. The pants fell to the ground and formed a puddle of cloth over his feet. Then it was time to remove his boxers, the last piece of clothing before he was completely nude. She gulped and slipped her fingers a little in the waist of his boxers and gently pulled it down, revealing his genitals. She tried not to look down and to get rid of her evident blush but it was of no use. It was obvious that she was checking him out and that only added to his cockiness, "Umm... Okay you can get in the tub now."

He nodded and turned to get in the bath. He winced in pain upon trying to do so, so she held his upper arm and guided him in. Once he was seated she turned on the facet and filled the tub up with warm water. When the tub was filled, she sat on the edge and started to lather his spiky hair with shampoo. Her slim fingers massaged his scalp and worked their way down the length of his white hair. She then washed out the soap and realized that it was time to later his body. She took a wash rag and soaped it up but realized that it would be quite a challenge to soap him up while she was on the outside of the tub. It would be easy if she were bathing a baby but since he was so much taller than her, it was difficult. She knew what she had to do and her heart was pounding, she was sweating and her cheeks were extremely rosy. Jiraiya noticed that she had stopped and wondered what was wrong with her, "What's wrong Tsunade?" He looked up at her only to see that she was discarding her own clothing, "W-What are you doing?" He asked nervously.

"It's gonna be tough for me to soap you up without actually being in the tub with you because you're so damn tall and the tub is so small so I'm coming in." She shed her body of her clothing and stepped in the tub so that she was seated directly in front of him. Hazel eyes met black orbs and it was extremely tense between the two Sannin. They have taken baths with each other before but somehow it felt as if it was their first time. She swallowed her nervousness and started to wash his chest. After that she took his strong arms into her feminine hands and washed them. Her hands moved over his shoulders and she did his back. Her hands then moved to his face. Her free hand grasped his left cheek while her other hand accompanied by the soapy wash rag soaped up his forehead. Her hand trailed down to his right cheek and then to his neck. She stopped there as suddenly her hand became stationary. She looked up at his face and started deep into his dark eyes. He looked back at her, with his heart pounding out of his chest. She moved closer to him and kissed his neck, then his shoulder until her lips stopped at his chest, right above his heart. Her lips lingered there for some time until he lifted her head with his hands clasping her cheeks. It pained him to do so but he didn't care. He bent down and kissed her forehead, then nose, then her two cheeks until he claimed her lips with his own in a hungry, passionate kiss. His tongue brushed against her lips begging for entrance and she gladly opened her mouth for him. Tongues tangled and when air became a necessity they broke apart, panting furiously. She moved closer to him, sitting in his lap with her legs wrapped around his waist. She kissed his neck again but this time sucking some of his skin. His fingers tangled in her hair as she kissed him then their lips met once again. They stopped for a second and looked each other in the eye, "We haven't done this in a while." She laughed but then she became concerned, "Am I hurting you? Should we stop?"

He laughed at her concern for him. It was so cute that she was worried about his well being, "No pain in the world can stop me from continuing this."

She laughed and kissed him tenderly, "I love you egg head."

He returned the kiss, "Me too. But no more talking, let's pick up from where we left off."

Sweet kisses and absolute pleasure filled their day and Jiraiya concluded that that was the best bath he has ever taken in his life.

* * *

**It was so fun writing this. I kept it PG though, didn't want things to get too intense. **

**I hope you had as much fun reading this as I had writing it.**

**Please remember to comment to tell me what you think of this and if you have suggestions from upcoming chapters you can include that as well.**

**Thanks for reading/reviewing/ adding this to you favorites/following my story.**

***Spoiler* **

**PS. What do you guys think about Tsunade being bisected? What the actual hell Masashi? I swear of you kill Tsunade I will kill you! Let's cross our fingers that the evil genius Masashi Kishimoto does not kill off our favorite Sannin.**

**Okay bye!**


	8. Filler

**Hello my fabulous readers! This will be a flashback chapter when Tsunade agreed to be the Hokage and she is travelling back to the village with Jiraiya, Shizune and Naruto. Enjoy!**

* * *

What an unexpected turn of events. The three people who once called themselves teammates and friends forever were engaged in a grueling battle, two against one. That one was no other than Orochimaru, the man who managed to kill the third Hokage, who was also their former sensei. All four of them spent so much time together in their youth until they formed an inseparable bond. But now Orochimaru was walking along a path of darkness while Jiraiya and Tsunade were walking their own separate paths. They were reunited due to one of Orochimaru's evil schemes. He wanted Tsunade to heal his arms since she was the only person who could reverse the curse that the third placed on him, the curse that paralyzed his arms, preventing him from using any of his jutsu. He promised to bring her loved ones back to life if she granted him this favor. It tempted her but she put the well being of the village over her personal interests. Because of that, they were now fighting.

Blood splattered, bones were cracked, the young blonde haired genin mastered the fourth's jutsu and Tsunade overcame her fear of blood at last and accepted her position as Hokage. Tsunade beat Orochimaru to a pulp which caused him to escape the battlefield along with his accomplice Kabuto, the white haired medic.

Now Tsunade, her former teammate and her apprentice were standing over the cheerful boy as he slept. He was determined to master his jutsu and win his bet against Tsunade to prove to her that he had what it takes to be a splendid Hokage and he did just that. He even managed to protect the female sannin in the process. Because of that, he earned her respect and her faith. She decided to bet on him against all the odds. There was something about that boy that struck her, and it was not only because he reminded her of her lover and dear little brother, but something about him, that was unique to only him appealed to her. After a few days of belittling him and thinking that he could never be a Hokage, she grew to like him.

After a few hours of resting from their battle, they all decided to meet at a small tavern in the town to get a bite to eat before they headed out for the village. It was sure to be a long journey and it would not be wise to start it on an empty stomach. When they were all there they were seated at a table and ordered their food. Jiraiya looked to Tsunade, silently telling her that they should inform the boy that she accepted her title of Hokage. He would find out eventually and there was no use in hiding it from him.

"Naruto, we have something to tell you." Jiraiya said and the boy looked up at him with water in his mouth.

He swallowed hard, "What is it?"

"Well…" He started and looked to Tsunade again, smiling at her. He was happy that she decided to be the Hokage because that meant that he wouldn't have to do it. Just the thought of piles upon piles of paperwork and not being able to be free to do as he pleased and conduct his 'research' nauseated him, "Tsunade here has accepted her title as the fifth Hokage."

"FIFTH HOKAGE?!" He screamed in utter disbelief almost choking on his water.

Tsunade nodded gently and laughed slightly and the boy's reaction.

"Unbelievable, I'm out of it for a few minutes and I wake up to find out she's the Hokage." Naruto grumbled with folded arms. It's not that he disliked her; he was just disgruntled that he was not the new Hokage.

"Is something bothering you Naruto, what's wrong?" Jiraiya interrupted his grumbles.

"Come on, shouldn't the Hokage be kind and wise and everything? Like the old man used to be? And she's, well, mean and greedy and has a nasty temper and she's not all that smart. Nothing personal or anything but it's a big job and I don't think she's up to it."

Shizune looked at her mentor and noticed that she was getting upset at the boy's rant. It was evident with the vein that bulged on the side of her forehead and her disgusted facial expression. She knew how her master could react once pissed off so she interrupted Naruto for his own sake, "Right, well, Lady Tsunade are you ready to order something?" She asked nervously.

Naruto continued however, completely unaware of the danger that could result, "On top of that she's a fifty year old lady who uses jutsu to look like a young woman. I just wonder if we really want a Hokage like that, you know, someone who's living a lie."

Once Naruto mentioned her age, a fuse broke within her and she came up in his face and threatened him, "Do you wanna take this outside kid?!

Shizune screamed, "AIYEEEEEEEE!"

Jiraiya sighed upon seeing the two of them glare at each other with disgust. Naruto didn't know when to shut his mouth and Tsunade couldn't control her temper, _"Here we go, it's déjà vu all over again."_

They exited the tavern, leaving their food on the table to settle their argument. Tsunade stood on the right beside Shizune and Ton Ton, leaving a large gap between her and Naruto who was standing on the left with Jiraiya. Naruto was still giving her a deadly glare but she just smiled.

"I may not be anyone's idea of perfect but I am Hokage now. And even though I shouldn't dirty my hands on a little squirt like you…" She raised her pointing finger and lifted it so that the boy could see, "One finger is all I'm gonna need."

Naruto recalled the last time she said those words which resulted in a large crater being formed with just her finger, a crater that he ended up stuck in until Shizune helped him out. He didn't let her words intimidate him though, "Not this time grandma! And stop calling me squirt! Right now I'm just a kid but I'll be Hokage myself one day." He said confidently.

Tsunade gasped at his words but then a smile graced her face as she remembered that she had the utmost faith that he would indeed become a Hokage one day. She wouldn't admit that to him though.

"You asked for it!" He shouted as he charged at her with his hand in a fist. Once he was close enough to her he tried to punch her but she simply dodged it. She got out of her now crouched position and flicked his headband off with one fast and strong movement of her hand. She then held her finger out to his now bare forehead in an attempt to flick his forehead as she did the last time but instead stopped her actions. Naruto closed his eyes, anticipating the worst but instead of sharp fingers on his forehead that would send him flying in the opposite direction, soft lips pressed against the skin of his forehead. His eyes quickly opened and looked up at her. She pressed her palm against his chest then removed it and smiled widely with a pink tint on her cheeks.

"You'll grow up to be a fine man." She told him, _"And a great Hokage too."_

Naruto continued to stare at her and after a few moments he chuckled lightly and smiled, "You bet!" From her actions, Naruto came to the conclusion that she wasn't going to be a bad Hokage after all.

Approving smiles came from the other sannin, Shizune and a very happy piglet.

"_That's unlike you Tsunade. Perhaps you see that same thing in the knuckle head as I do." _Jiraiya thought to himself, "Okay let's go home everyone, to the leaf village!"

"Whoa! Wait a second! I haven't eaten yet!" Naruto shouted.

The adults who surrounded him started to laugh at his sudden outburst, "What's so funny? I've been unconscious! I'm starving!"

They bought the boy a rice ball and started their journey home. Even though Tsunade was confident about her decision to be the Hokage, she was still apprehensive about returning to the village. The last time she was there, Shizune was seven years old. She hasn't been there in so long that she wasn't sure if the citizens would welcome her home with open arms. Maybe they would not be too keen on the idea that she would be their leader, maybe they would think of her as just a person who abandoned the village years ago. She wasn't sure what to think so instead of engaging in conversation with the others, she remained in silence.

Jiraiya, being her oldest and closest friend, could read her like a book so he knew how she was feeling. He could tell by just looking at her that she was unsure of herself so he made a mental note to have a long talk with her once they arrived at the inn where they would be staying for the night.

After a few hours of walking, they finally got to the inn. They ordered two rooms; one for Jiraiya and Naruto and the other for Tsunade and Shizune. The two parties went to their respective rooms to settle in. Each room had two single beds beside each other so the accommodations were just right. They were walking for quite some time so Shizune fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow and Ton Ton slept at the foot her bed. Tsunade however, was wide awake, sitting on the sill of a large window that allowed her to overlook the town. She looked at the dazzling lights and the full moon above admired their radiant beauty.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the boys' room, Naruto was bouncing up and down his bed, much to Jiraiya's annoyance. He had no idea where the boy got his energy from after travelling for hours. Unlike the rest of them, while they were journeying to their current inn, Naruto was the only one who was jogging so he should be the most tired. But here he was jumping around like a firecracker.

"Where are you getting this energy from Naruto?" Jiraiya asked while watching the boy.

He stopped bouncing for a second to answer Jiraiya's question, "I'm just psyched that Granny Tsunade is gonna heal Sasuke, Kakashi sensei and bushy brow." He smiled, "And I'm also excited to show Sakura my awesome new jutsu. She's gonna be blown over by my new skills."

Jiraiya laughed upon remembering the days when he was a genin and used to show off in front of Tsunade to win her love. Obviously all of his efforts were futile since they are not a couple now. Every day he used to pester her to go out with him and would just get shut down immediately but nevertheless he kept trying because he genuinely loved her and still does to this day, "Okay, okay, pipe down you knuckle head." He started, "I get that you're excited but you need to hit the sack because we have another long journey tomorrow." He started to slip on his shoes and was about to exit the room, "If I come back and you're not in bed you're gonna get it. Understood?"

"Yeah, yeah whatever pervy sage. I just hope I don't wake up to find a random woman sleeping with you in your bed." Naruto grumbled. He hated when his master acted like a responsible adult.

"Good boy." He smiled and opened the door, "See ya."

* * *

Tsunade was still sitting by the window when she heard a knock at her door. She silently cursed and went to see who her late night visitor was.

"What do you want?" She said after she opened the door to reveal a familiar white haired sannin, "Aren't you supposed to be babysitting the kid?" She teased. Out of all their years of travelling together, Jiraiya has never shared a room with a kid before. Usually he would spend each night in the inn with different girls so it was quite amusing for Tsunade to see him take care of a child.

"Very funny but I sent Naruto to bed." He explained but didn't know why since Naruto has been alone all his life so he was more than capable of taking care of himself. He could see that Tsunade was joking so decided to humor her.

"And you left him alone? What a good babysitter you are, I should call child services." She teased once again and laughed at her own joke. Jiraiya missed hearing her laugh like that.

His face turned serious upon remembering his reason for coming to her room, "All jokes aside Tsunade, I came here to talk to you."

Tsunade heard the sheets of Shizune's bed shift and could tell that she was stirring because of their voices. She gently pushed him out of the room and closed the door behind her, "I don't want to wake up Shizune." She said as an explanation as to why she pushed him out of her room, "What do you want to talk about? Feel like kicking around stories about the good old days? I don't see why you would want to though given the events that occurred with us and our good old friend just a few hours ago."

He gently shook his head and focused his eyes on hers, "Actually I wanted to talk to you because I can see that something is bothering you."

She looked at him confused, "What makes you think that something is bothering me."

He laughed gently, "Are you forgetting that we practically grew up together? I can read you like a book Tsunade."

It was true that he knew her like the back of his hand and she understood why after all they've been through over the years. She also could tell what he was feeling and since she knew him so well, she knew that he was not going to go away until she told him all her worries so she decided to accommodate him, "So do you want to have this talk out in here hallway or do you have a place in mind?"

"I don't have a specific place but will you be so kind as to accompany me to the roof princess?" He winked and that earned him a gentle punch on the arm.

"Idiot." She grumbled and walked in front of him to the roof.

Instead of walking outside of the building and jumping on top of the roof, they decided to climb up a few flights of stairs like what a civilian would do to get to the roof. It was cold up there but beautiful since the entire town, illuminated by the street lights and the full moon above was in a clear view to the sannin. It was a sight to see, even romantic despite the fact that Jiraiya tried his hardest to prevent any romantic feelings that he had for her to leak out. She sat with her legs brought up to her chest and her hands hugging them in an attempt to keep herself warm. Jiraiya did the same only with his legs stretched out and his arms at his sides, balancing him.

"Well here we are." Jiraiya started, "Do you mind telling me what's on your mind?"

"I really don't want to tell you but I know that you won't leave me alone until I do." She said although a part of her really did not mind sitting there on the roof with him beside her.

"You got that right!" He smiled, "Because of my hard to resist personality I always get what I want."

"You mean your incredibly annoying personality! Now shut up before I kick you off of this roof!" She threatened.

"Okay, I'm sorry, just tell me what's wrong." He said nervously, trying to avoid the wrath of the only female sannin.

She gained her composure and turned her head to look out at the beautiful sight before her. She took a deep breath and began, "I guess I'm just scared." She said in a quiet, weak voice. He hasn't heard that voice in so long but knew it was only used when she felt extremely sad and unsure of herself.

"If this is about you being the Hokage-" He started but was interrupted.

"It's not about my decision to become the Hokage, I know I made the right choice but…" She trailed off as feelings of insecurity made themselves known. She wondered if he would think of her as weak if she told him the reason why she was scared.

He noticed that she was reluctant to talk so he brought his thumb up to her chin and guided her head to face him. Hazel eyes met onyx orbs and she saw gentleness and warmth within them, "Whatever it is, you can tell me."

He let go of her chin and she turned away from him again, "I know." She closed her eyes and began to tell him all her problems as she now believed, from the meeting of their eyes, that he would never judge her but he would only try to offer his help and friendship, "I decided to be the Hokage not only to protect the village but to keep the dreams of Nawaki and Dan alive so I know my choice was right but I can't help but feel intimidated. When I remember the good that the previous Hokages did for the village I feel like I'm nothing compared to them. My grandfather built the village and the others did so much to maintain it and make it better. What if I can't be what the village needs? What if I screw up so bad that I ruin all that my predecessors worked so hard to maintain? And it's not just being Hokage that scares me; it's also the reaction of the villagers to me being Hokage that worries me. What if they're pissed at me for abandoning the village? What if they don't think that I'm good enough to stand before them as their leader because of that? And I sure as hell don't want to know what those old hags Koharu and Homura have to say when they see me!"

He extended his hand and placed a gentle palm on top of hers, "You're worrying too much Tsunade. The council wanted one of the Sannin for a reason you know. On top of being a sannin, you're also the granddaughter of the first, the grand-niece of the second and a student of the third. Furthermore you're the best medical ninja and the strongest kunoichi out there. You are more than qualified to hold the title of Kage. As for the villagers, don't even worry about their reaction to you being the Hokage. They all know about your track record and are very impressed, especially the young kunoichis. One look at you and you'll have them all worshiping the ground you walk on. So don't worry about a thing because you're going to make a fantastic Hokage."

She moved her hand from underneath his masculine one and pulled him into a hug. He was shocked at first but then participated in it by wrapping his arms around her tiny body, "Thank you." She whispered into his ear and sent chills running down his body and cold bumps rising to his flesh. She released him and looked into his face.

"No need to thank me Tsunade."

"I wanted to anyway."

He noticed that she was shivering due to the cold so against his better judgment, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders in an attempt to keep her warm. To his surprise she didn't push him away, send him rolling down the roof or break his bones. She allowed him to care for her. Then she did something that was unexpected. She rested her head on his shoulder. He wanted to hold her closer and even kiss the top of her head but decided against it. Perhaps that would be too much since she made it clear on numerous occasions that they were only friends and nothing more. He remained in his position, not doing anything more or anything less. He didn't want to ruin that moment for him since in his heart and mind, it felt natural. If he could, he would stay in that position forever but tried to remind himself that he couldn't. It was only temporary.

As they enjoyed the view, a thought came to his mind after remembering that Tsunade kissed Naruto on his forehead. He wondered what that meant and if it had some kind of symbolism attached to it, "Hey Tsunade?"

"Hmmm?" She muttered out with sleepiness to her tone.

"What is it with you and Naruto?"

"What do you mean?"

"When you kissed his forehead, why did you do that?"

"Naruto is a special kid and not only because he reminds me so much of Dan and Nawaki. He shares their dream yes but there's something about him that makes me want to believe in him. When he mastered that jutsu and risked his life to protect me, I realized that he is an exceptional human being. Despite the fact that I doubted him and taunted him, he was still willing to put his life on the line to help me. That's truly remarkable. So I gave him my necklace to help make his dreams come true. Not only that but I decided to bet on him and put my faith in him because he is destined for greatness."

"Yeah, that kid is something. I'm not really a kid person but I really enjoy being around him especially since Minato and Kushina made me his God father."

"Oh right, you're basically the brat's family." She recalled the day Jiraiya told her. She wasn't in the village but he managed to send her a letter to inform her of the good news, "I hope you haven't corrupted him with your perverted ways."

"He was corrupted even before I got to him."

"What do you mean by that?"

"He developed this jutsu that he calls the sexy jutsu."

Tsunade moved out of her position so that she could face him, "The sexy jutsu?"

He nodded, "Yeah, he transforms into this beautiful, naked female version of himself! I nearly fainted when I saw it for the first time."

Tsunade put her palm to her face, "Of course you would, you're the biggest perv I know."

"You know you like me just the way I am." He teased but ended up getting whacked in the head.

"THE HELL I DO!"

"Ow! You have got to stop denying it. I mean, you hugged me and allowed me to hold you- OW!" He was whacked in the head once again but this time ended up rolling down the roof and onto the grassy floor below.

Tsunade jumped down and made sure that he wasn't severely injured. As much as she was pissed off at him, she wouldn't leave him alone if he were seriously wounded. She noticed that he only had a few scratches but that was it.

"A little help here?" He begged.

"You're fine so you can get up yourself."

"Aw, come on Tsunade!"

"Serves you right for being stupid!" She said as she walked away and went back to her room.

"_Well Jiraiya, what did we learn today? I'm definitely not going to go on and on about Tsunade's affection for me ever again. If I didn't then I wouldn't be here right now." _ He said to himself and rose to his feet, dusted himself off then went back to his room, hoping that Naruto was asleep.

* * *

**This chapter has nothing to do with the story. I just decided to put this one up since I wrote it quickly and I don't want to keep you guys waiting too long since I am still working on the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it nevertheless.**

**I promise that the next chapter will be when Naruto, Sakura and Shizune meet up with Jiraiya and Tsunade. **

**I have a lot of ideas for the upcoming chapters and I think that you'll like them; well at least I hope so.**

***Spoiler***

**Did you guys read the latest Naruto manga chapter? The Hokages are going to enter the battlefield! *happy dance* I personally hope that Hashirama meets up with Tsunade, heals her and shares a cute moment with her. She can even join them in battle! You never know… *fingers crossed***

**What do you guys think will happen? Leave me a review or PM and tell me what you think.**

**You can also follow me on Twitter if you like meggzmcghie and feel free to ask me when I will be posting new chapters.**

**Thank you for your continued support! **

**XOXOXO**


	9. My Turn

"How long is it going to take for us to get to the inn that Granny Tsunade and Pervy Sage are at?" Naruto whined. The trio were currently at a inn not too far away from the one of their destination. They were traveling at a high speed so they got there in one day instead of how long it took the Sannin to get there. Although they didn't have a long way to go before they were at Tsunade's side, they decided to stay there for the night. It was quite late and they needed to rest their bodies. For all they knew they could be running straight into a battle between Tsunade and her attacker's companions so they needed all the energy they could get. Naruto didn't like the idea of resting for the night. He wanted to get to his sensei as fast as possible so he failed to see the logic behind Shizune's decision to stay at the inn for the night.

Shizune knew that Naruto wasn't going to stop annoying her and whining until their journey came to an end and if she did not provide him with the information that he wanted, it would only get worse, "We are approximately three hours away from our destination. We can get there in less than that in the morning if we travel quickly."

"So if we are so close then why can't we go there now?" Naruto grumbled.

Sakura didn't hesitate to whack Naruto in the head, "Would you shut up and stop giving Shizune a hard time?! We need to rest in order to save our energy for the likelihood of an attack. So quit complaining and stay put!"

"Easy for you to say! You're sensei isn't the one who's hurt!" Naruto defended. He hated how unsympathetic Sakura was being towards his sensei's current situation.

"Who the hell do you think you're talking to?!" Sakura shouted while putting her fist up to her teammate's face in an attempt to threaten him. She was always violent but her violent behavior only intensified when Tsunade took her under her wing.

Naruto refused to back down, "Who do you think I'm talking to? I'm looking straight at you!"

Shizune stood between them in order to break up the fight and prevent any unnecessary injuries, "Okay that's enough you two. You have been constantly bickering for this entire trip and quite frankly I'm sick of it! I don't want to hear a peep out of the both of you for the rest of the night. Understood?"

They teammates nodded in union to silently answer their captain's orders.

"Good. Now I want you to apologize to each other." It was late and all Shizune wanted to do was have a peaceful night but those two were proving her desire to be impossible.

"Okay fine." Naruto started and turned to Sakura who refused to make eye contact with him, "I'm sorry Sakura. I don't want to fight with you and I hate it when we do. You don't have to apologize."

Sakura automatically felt guilty since he was speaking with such sincerity, "I'm the one who should be apologizing. I'm sorry."

Shizune couldn't help but smile upon hearing them sincerely apologize to each other. Now she was certain that she could get a good night's rest so that she could function efficiently tomorrow when she meets up with Tsunade. She just hoped that everything was alright.

* * *

Tsunade looked across the room to see Jiraiya sleeping peacefully on their double bed. His pain was starting to go away but it was still present so she dosed him up on pain medication to allow him to sleep comfortably. She couldn't sleep. She was too consumed with her feelings of guilt so she just sat at the small table across from the bed and looked at her sleeping teammate. He apologized to her many times but she was too stubborn and reluctant to accept them. It took a near death experience on Jiraiya's part for her to finally forgive him and that troubled her. What of he actually died and she didn't get the opportunity to tell him that she forgave him a long time ago and still loved him with all her heart? How could she live with herself? She concluded if that happened, she could not handle her guilt and would just die along with him. Thank God thinks didn't turn out like that.

Now that she gave it some serious thought, she came to the realization that she owed him an apology. After all, she did ignore him and basically tell him that her work was more important than their relationship. If she didn't push him away, then perhaps they would have never gotten into that argument that lasted for days. They were both in the wrong and he owned up to it, now it was her turn.

She walked over to the bed and stood over the toad sage, watching him closely. His chest rose and and fell in an even pattern, telling her that his breathing was normal and he wasn't feeling any pain. She smiled a little and brushed an unruly patch of hair away from his face. She looked down at his face and couldn't stop herself from placing a small but sweet kiss on his closed lips. She allowed her lips to linger there for a moment then pulled away out of fear of waking him. Despite her attempts to prevent him from waking up, he stirred a bit after she pulled away from him and opened his tired eyes to look at the blonde Hokage.

"Tsunade?" He said tiredly.

She felt bad for waking him up, "I'm sorry, go back to bed."

Jiraiya propped himself up on his elbows into a sitting position and patted the small space beside him, silently telling her to join him on the bed. She sighed at his disobedience but decided to do as he asked. She sat closely beside him with her head resting against his shoulder. He placed a small kiss on her cheek and wrapped his arms around her, "Is something the matter?" He asked.

"Nothing much. I was just thinking." She said absently.

"What about?"

Although she wanted him to go back to sleep and preserve his strength, she felt compelled to tell him. From now on, she didn't want him to leave him out of any detail in her life. Every ounce of her being was committed to him, "You apologized to me over and over and I was so stubborn. I knew you meant it each time but I guess I just wanted to be difficult. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about that. It's done and now we're happy again. Don't dwell in the past."

"We were both in the wrong and you apologized so it's my turn. I'm sorry for pushing you away for all that time. I was so stupid to do that because I was blind to the fact that I have a great guy in my life who is willing to love me regardless of all the crap I put him through. I promise from here on out that I will make time for us despite of my busy schedule. I've lost too many people in my life and I refuse to lose you again."

He was silent for a moment in order to allow Tsunade's words to sink in. She was actually apologizing. That woman is as stubborn as a mule and yet here she was, owning up to her mistakes and actually apologizing for them. She came a long way and he loved her even more for that, "That's not something you hear everyday."

"What?"

"Tsunade the fifth Hokage, apologizing to her old perverted teammate. You would rather have someone kill you than apologize to me when we were kids."

Tsunade removed her head from his shoulder to look up at him with regret in her face, "That's right. I've never really apologized to you." She remembered how mean she was to him throughout their childhood. She was always making fun of him, injuring him and almost killed him on one occasion. And then she basically rubbed her relationship with Dan in his face but then looked to him to comfort her when he died. She must have caused him so much pain. She was truly undeserving of him, "Why do you love me?" She voice was so small, so weak. It was as if she was on the verge of tears and that is what made Jiraiya know that she was truly sorry and regretted all the times she treated him like dirt, "I was so horrible to you and yet you still want to be with me. Why?"

He hated seeing her so sad. He gently placed his thumb on her chin and directed her attention to him so that their eyes met, "It's because you're you. No other woman makes me want to better myself or makes me feel so happy. I love you because you refuse to put up with crap from anybody or change yourself to suit anybody. You're a strong beautiful woman and I will always love you no matter what. After all I did deserve all those beatings you used to give me."

She smiled a little but that smiled soon faded away, "Are you sure you didn't hate me when we were kids?"

He laughed at her question, "Hate you? How could I ever hate you? I was in love with you the second I saw you and it wasn't just because you were so damn attractive." He said, "How about you, did you hate me?"

"No I didn't hate you." She snuggled into him, enjoying the warmth that radiated off his toned body, "You were just so annoying. And your perverted ways, any girl would be pissed at them. Just look at Naruto and Sakura. She'll beat the crap out of him if he ever performed his sexy jutsu in front of her but that doesn't mean that she hates him."

"I've given up my perversion just to be with you." He said proudly but was soon shut down.

"Have you? I don't think so but let's not revisit that moment when I caught you taking a peep."

He laughed at her comment but then winced as pain ran through his body. His medication was starting to wear off but she could not administer anymore for the rest of the night. If she did, she would be overdosing him, "You need to go back to sleep and save your strength." She instructed him as she rose to her feet and gently tucked him in the bed under the blankets.

Jiraiya watched as she walked away from him to sit on the chair adjacent from him, "Aren't you coming to bed too?"

"I don't want to make you uncomfortable so I'll just stay here."

"No way. I won't allow that. You won't make me uncomfortable so just get up here. I sleep better with you by my side anyway."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Tsunade got up from her chair and climbed into bed beside Jiraiya. She snuggled into the blankets and gave him a simple peck on the cheek before she allowed sleep to claim her.

* * *

"EVERYBODY GET UP! GET UP!"

Shizune and Sakura immediately woke up from their slumber and rose to their feet with a kunai in Sakura's hand and needles dipped in poison in Shizune's. They looked around the room only to see Naruto standing in front of them waving his hands in the air and telling them not to hurt him.

"Don't hurt me please!" He begged and backed up in the corner of the room to be out of their range.

The women realized that they were not under attack and lowered their weapons."Naruto why did you shout at us to get up?" Shizune asked annoyed.

"Because it's morning so that means it's time for us to leave." He smiled and walked towards them.

"If I were you I would go back in that corner." Sakura said with violent intent evident in her voice. She pulled out her kunai in order to scare him. Pay back for waking her up.

"Easy there Sakura... No need to kill me." He said with a shaky voice.

"I'm not going to kill you idiot but the next time you wake me up like that you can dig your grave from now!" She put away her kunai in her weapon pouch and went to the bathroom to prepare herself for the day.

"I'll wait outside while you girls get ready." Naruto said as he gathered his already packed bag and headed out the door. He wasn't normally an early riser so it was quite strange to see him dressed, packed and ready to go so early in the morning. He just wanted to get to his master as soon as possible.

Sakura and Shizune got dressed and ate something light before they joined Naruto outside. However when they got there they were not expecting what they saw. Naruto was tied up to a tree with a thick rope and had three men carrying swords surrounding him. One had a scar above his left eye, another had an eye patch over his right eye and the other wore a tattered head didn't look like they were ninja but the fact that they were holding Naruto hostage for no reason and carried sharp swords meant that they should not be taken lightly.

"Thank God you two are here." Naruto sighed with relief, "I was staring to think that you would never come."

"Shut up blondie!" One of the men shouted. He was obviously the leader of the other two since he was the most outspoken and was standing in front of them.

Shizune spoke up, "What do you three want?" She asked seriously.

"We want all your cash or this one is gonna get it." The one with the eye patch threatened while pointing the sword to Naruto which caused him to squirm.

"Just give them what they want!" Naruto shouted in fear. It was amazing how three civilians could capture a ninja like Naruto who mastered the sage mode. Perhaps he was just caught off guard but nevertheless, those three were not to be underestimated regardless of the fact that they were not Shinobi.

"No way Naruto! We're not gonna make three low life punks like these take all our money when we can easily beat them to a pulp." Sakura protested and immediately smashed her fist to the ground which caused it to crumble beneath the three men. They fell to their feet and Sakura knocked one unconscious with a simple punch in the guy. She didn't use all her strength because she didn't wish to kill him since his skills were clearly not on par with her's. Shizune rushed to free Naruto of his bonds while Skaura pursued the other two. Once he was freed, he made a few hand signs and created two shadow clones. He instructed them to help Sakura out by getting rid of one of the men. Shizune tied the defeated one to the tree with the rope and soon did the same to the other after Naruto's shadow clones took care of him. The remaining thief was of course the leader. He managed to take Sakura out by slitting her upper arm and thigh with his blade. She fell to the ground and Shizune quickly gave her medical attention, leaving the criminal up to Naruto. The man had evil intent in his eyes and genuinely wanted to kill Naruto. The genin produced one more shadow clones since the other two disappeared and used it to gather chakra into his right hand to create the rasengan. Once it was completed, he ran towards the man who was now taken off guard since he was fascinated with the fourth Hokage's jutsu and took the full brunt of Naruto's attack. It wasn't enough to kill him since, like Skaura, Naruto didn't use his full strength. Since Shizune was busy healing Sakura, Naruto took the liberty of tying the man to the tree alongside his companions.

"Is she going to be alright Shizune?" Naruto asked as he watched the jounin pour her chakra into Sakura and heal her wounds.

"The blade was dipped in some sort of poison but it wasn't a well developed one so there's no need to worry. All I have to do is close her wounds and she's be just fine." Shizune explained, "Even though they aren't Shinobi, those guys are good but no match for our skills."

"Did you see how the leader was fascinated with my rasengan?" Naruto laughed.

Shizune laughed along with him but never losing her steady flow of chakra, "What a low life."

Sakura's eyes fluttered open and saw Naruto and Shizune over her and she felt when her wounds closed up. She suddenly felt embarrassed, "I can't believe I let a civilian take me down." She mumbled while sitting up and Shizune stopped working on her, satisfied that she was okay to continue their journey, "Thanks Shizune."

"Okay!" Naruto interrupted, "Now that Sakura is all better let's go to granny Tsunade and Pervy sage!" He started to move off without them only to turn around to see them still in the same positions he left them in. He was expecting to see them walking directly behind him, "Guys! What are you doing?! Let's go!"

Sakura and Shizune got up from their positions, "Pipe down Naruto!" Sakura demanded before she collected her belongings in the ground and started to walk towards him. Shizune did the same.

"Don't start with the bickering you two!" Shizune could not deal with the two of them, being at each other's throats. She just wanted to get to their destination in one peace, "It won't take long for us to get there so can we try to get there without killing each other? I swear you two are just like Lady Tsunade and Master Jiraiya when they were your age."

Naruto scooted over to Sakura and nudged her upper arm, "Hey Sakura, that means that we are gonna wind up together!"

She pushed him off of her, "In your dreams dim wit."

"Oh Sakura, you're so cold." He mumbled and caught up with the two women as they headed towards their destination.

They walked for approximately two hours but to Naruto, it felt like an eternity. Their journey was spent in idle conversation between the two women but when Naruto felt left out he would interrupt them and annoy Sakura telling her that they were going to grow old together and have many children. He then went on and told her that he would teach each child the rasengan and she would teach them medical ninjutsu. Perhaps Shizune should not have mentioned that the two teammates resembled the personalities of Tsunade and Jiraiya. Of course he knew that it was never going to happen since Sakura's heart still belonged to Sasuke despite the fact that he is a missing ninja and on Konoha's most wanted list. It was a pity that their friend took the path of darkness but it was what it was. Naruto was not going to give up however, no matter what it took, he was determined to get his friend to return to the village.

They finally got to their destination. After they asked the owner of the inn the room in which the Sannin were staying and paying him off for the damage done to their previous room, they walked towards the room while Naruto ran. He got there first and instead of knocking on the door before entering like what a normal person would do, he stormed through, almost breaking the door in the process. The sudden ruckus that he caused earned him two looks of shock from the former teammates. He looked at his master whose torso was wrapped with bandages but did not look like he was in pain. The eager genin rushed over to him and embraced him in a tight hug, "Pervy Sage!"

Tsunade looked at him with confusion, "Naruto what are you doing here?"

He let go of his mater and was about to answer the Hokage's question until Shizune cut him off.

"He insisted on coming Lady Tsunade. He said he wanted to be here for Master Jiraiya." Shizune explained.

"I just want to make sure that he's alright. I know I'm not a medical ninja so I can't assist you guys with anything but I just want to be here for him. He's the only family I have and I don't want anything to happen to him."

Tsunade sighed and shrugged her shoulders, "You're here regardless of the fact that I did not send for you so it doesn't make any sense that I send you back. However, the next time you include yourself in a mission that was not assigned to you, you're gonna get it. Understood?"

"Loud and clear Granny!" He smiled and went over to Jiraiya to talk to him.

Sakura and Shizune went over to Tsunade to discuss the toad sage's current medical condition. He was healing nicely and his pain was becoming less and less with each passing day. He was in a good condition so that was something to be thankful for. Their professional conversation soon changed to become one where the two younger women questioned Tsunade about her current relationship status, "So Lady Tsunade, what's up with you and Master Jiraiya?" Shizune asked and Tsunade blushed.

"Come on, I want to hear too." Sakura smiled upon noticing her master's blush.

After a few moments of pleading and provoking, Tsunade finally gave in and told her apprentices about her personal life, "We're fine now. I forgave him for his crap and I apologized to him as well. So don't worry because we are very much together again."

The younger women smiled. They were both genuinely happy that their master managed to fix things in her relationship. Now she was happy again and that meant that they were happy as well.

"I knew you two would work through it. After all, you are meant for each other." Shizune smiled.

Tsunade pondered upon Shizune's words. Perhaps it was her destiny to be with Jiraiya for the rest of her life. If it really was her destiny, then she welcomed it because she could not remember the last time in her entire life where she was so happy.


	10. Shocking News

It has been approximately three weeks since Jiraiya, Tsunade, Shizune, Naruto and Sakura returned to the village. Jiraiya was completely healed now since his pain was no longer existent and his wounds were all closed up. Everybody breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this news because they would hate to lose him for a second time. They all returned to their normal lives with the exception of the two Sannin. After much thought and compromise, Jiraiya moved in with Tsunade. Bickering was ever present but the two had to admit that they were happy to be living together.

Marriage was something that was discussed on a regular basis but they both agreed that it could wait until a later date. It's not like they didn't want to get married, it's just that they were comfortable within their relationship as it is and marriage would only complicate things. Furthermore, they didn't believe that a piece of paper alone certifying that they are husband and wife could prove their devotion for each other. They were one hundred percent committed without being married.

Their living situation was quite comical. For instance, Jiraiya was messy so Tsunade would always use force to get him to clean his mess. He also snored loudly so on many occasions she would kick him off the bed or throw him out the room. Not to mention when he would leave the toilet seat up. That would only result in a big war between the two of them. At the end of the day however, he provided her with the stability and comfort that she needed every time she would stop working for the day and return to her living quarters. Being the Hokage was a stressful job and he allowed her to relax and forget about all her worries. She loved him for that and he loved her for allowing him to be there for her.

Everybody in the village was thrilled about their relationship well, except for Naruto. He was just concerned with getting his training in. Because of that, Jiraiya made it his point of duty to make time for his student every day. After that was done, Naruto became more comfortable with the idea of his master being in a relationship with the Hokage. Out of all the people in the village, Shizune was the most excited. She was genuinely pleased that Tsunade had found happiness and in return, she was happy.

One morning, Tsunade got up from her slumber feeling quite sick and uneasy. Her back hurt and she was feeling weak. She stretched her arm over to the space in the bed beside her only to feel cold rumpled sheets. She sighed upon remembering that Jiraiya was off on a mission with Naruto and was not scheduled to return until later that night. She wished he was there to massage her back but decided that there was no use in wishing for something that could not happen in that moment. She rose into a sitting position and when she did she felt a wave of nausea overcome her. Thankfully, it went away before she threw up over her freshly laundered sheets. She decided that it would be wise to give herself a medical check up to establish the source of her sickness so that she could prescribe herself medication. She placed her palm upon her stomach and sent medical chakra shooting through her body, analyzing each and every part of her body to ensure that everything is functioning as it should. Everything was fine within her so for the life of her, she could not understand why she was feeling so horrible until realization dawned on her. She focused all of her chakra into her lower stomach and found something that she never thought she would find. A faint but present chakra that did not belong to her was present in her womb. She was pregnant.

She quickly removed her hand and gasped for air. She began to shake uncontrollably, her heart pounded rapidly in her chest and she was sweating. She was having a panic attack because this was so unexpected. It was indeed possible for her to become pregnant since her body took on the functions of a young woman because of her constant transformation jutsu. She was not sure if she was capable of raising a child on top of being the Hokage and she was nervous as well since she was not entirely sure if she would be a good mother. Never in her life did she think that this would happen to her.

She went to the bathroom directly to the sink to splash some cold water on her face in an attempt to calm herself. After doing so, she looked in the mirror directly before her and looked at herself. She looked tired and completely out of it.

"What am I going to do? I don't know if I'm capable of raising this child after all I have on my plate. Can I even be a good enough mother for this kid? What if I end up screwing up it's life? I'm so confused I wish Jiraiya was here to tell me what to do... Oh my God Jiraiya! How is he gonna react to the news?! Does he even want to be a father? Ugh, this is just too much for me to handle especially since I have a long day of work ahead of me. I'll think about this later..."

Tsunade decided to push all over her concerns to the back of her mind to enable herself to focus on the work she had ahead of her. It was going to be a long, taxing day and she only hoped that she could get through it without having a complete meltdown.

* * *

Jiraiya and Naruto were currently in the Land of Rice on a mission to escort a rich diplomat back to his village. Usually, Jiraiya would be assigned more complicated, dangerous missions regarding the Akatsuki but Naruto was assigned that mission and needed a jounin to accompany him. There was no available jounin and Jiraiya was free so he had to go with him. This only excited Naruto because on their breaks Jiraiya could train him. This was a joy as well as a pain to Jiraiya. He loved hanging out with his godson but hated how overly enthusiastic he could be.

They escorted the diplomat safely to his village and were on their way home. They decided to take a short break in an open field before they returned. Naruto insisted that instead of sitting around doing nothing, they should train so he was left alone, working on his sage mode while Jiraiya went into the town to buy them something to eat.

Jiraiya returned a few minutes later with a frozen double Popsicle in his hand. That was their favorite treat, especially the blueberry flavored one. That treat reminded them both of the first time they headed out the village together in search of Tsunade and the last time Jiraiya trained him before he 'died'. It was special to both of them and had some sort of symbolic meaning to it. It represented the teacher/student, grandfather/grandson relationship they shared.

"Hey kid, I'm back!" Jiraiya said upon approaching his student. Naruto was working so hard to become stronger and stronger each day so Jiraiya would be lying if he said that he wasn't proud of the youngster.

Naruto eyed his mentor with slight annoyance, "What took you so long? You left me here to train by myself. When I said let's train I didn't expect you to leave me you know."

Jiraiya chuckled and held out the frozen treat, "I had to find a place that sold these."

The young blonde smiled excitedly upon seeing the Popsicle, "I guess I can forgive you then."

The toad sage broke the treat in two, creating two separate Popsicles and handed one to Naruto. He gladly accepted it and the two sat side by side, indulging themselves in their favorite frozen snack, "Pervy Sage?"

"Hmmm? What's up kid?" Jiraiya replied sensing that there was something on the boy's mind.

"Are you happy with granny Tsunade?" He asked and then nibbled on his Popsicle.

Jiraiya looked over to him and wondered why he was suddenly curious to know about his relationship, "Why do you ask?"

"I'm just curious. Come on Pervy sage, answer me."

"Okay then." He started before smiling, "I'm extremely happy with Tsunade."

Naruto was silent for a moment and then gathered enough courage to ask his master his other question, "Do you think that I'll ever be that happy with a girl?"

Jiraiya was so shocked to hear that question that he almost chocked on his Popsicle. He couldn't believe that Naruto out of all people was actually asking him for advice on girls. He gathered his composure in order to help the boy out. After all, Naruto didn't have anyone else to help him when it came to such a thing as this, "Who's the girl? Is it Sakura?"

"No it's not Sakura, it's Hinata." Naruto said with a slight blush. He never spoke about girls to anyone but here he was spilling his guts to the world's number one pervert. Perhaps it's because Jiraiya was the closest thing he had to family, therefore, he trusted him more than anyone else.

"Hinata? I always thought you had a thing for Sakura."

"I did but a few days ago Hinata told me that she loved me so now I'm confused." He explained.

"What are you confused about kiddo? Hinata's not the type to lie so I'm sure that she really does love you."

"It's just that I'm wondering if I should waste my time on Sakura. She clearly doesn't have any feelings for me and I bet she's still hung up over Sasuke. So do you think I should just forget about her and allow myself to love Hinata?"

"Well do you have any feelings for Hinata?"

"I think she's a nice person and I admire her for coming so far from a shy girl with no self confidence to a beautiful person who not only has good looks but is strong in her own right."

Jiraiya moved closer to his student and wrapped his arm around his shoulders, "Look kid, I think you should give the Hyuga girl a chance. It's clear that she really loves you so I say go for it."

Naruto removed his stare from the ground and looked up at his mentor, "Are you sure?"

Jiraiya laughed loudly and wrapped his arm tighter around his pupil, "Of course I'm sure kid! After all I am great with the ladies." He boasted but Naruto refused to humor him.

"You? Great with the ladies? GIVE ME A BREAK PERVY SAGE! YOU'RE THE GUY WHO GETS THE MOST PUNCHES FROM GRANNY TSUNADE SO DON'T SAY THAT YOU'RE GREAT WITH THE LADIES BECAUSE YOU'RE CLEARLY NOT!"

Jiraiya grabbed him by the collar, "YOU WANNA SAY THAT AGAIN KIDDO?!"

"I'LL SAY IT A MILLION TIMES IF YOU WANT ME TO!"

"YOU LITTLE MORON!" Jiraiya screamed and then knocked the genin in his head.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!"

"FOR BEING AN IDIOT!"

* * *

Tsunade was in her usual position at her office in front of her desk and working on stacks upon stacks of paper. She was busy signing off on mission reports and various requests from neighboring lands. The work was a real pain and it was doing little to nothing to help Tsunade feel any better about her situation. As a result, she felt extremely irritated. Even the slightest of things would send her off the edge. Maybe it was her hormones or maybe she was just in a foul mood. Whatever the reason, she just wanted to throw all her paperwork out the window, climb into bed under the sheets and never emerge.

Shizune came in the office to ask Tsunade what she wanted to eat for lunch. Little did she know that her master was in no mood for any company regardless of the fact that Shizune was just going to take her order and quickly leave. Tsunade didn't even feel like eating. She dosed herself up with medication to suppress the nauseous feeling she had but she still felt sick to her stomach because she had no idea what she was going to do or how she was going to tell Jiraiya.

Tsunade looked at Shizune like she was an insignificant spec. Not even the sight of her dear apprentice could cheer her up. Shizune noticed this look but ignored it and asked her master the question she came to ask her in the most cheerful tone she had, "What would you like to eat Lady Tsunade?" She smiled.

Tsunade just looked at her and tried to suppress her annoyance but couldn't, "I don't want anything to eat Shizune so will you quit annoying me and get out now!"

"W-what? Lady Tsunade I just want you to know what you want to eat." She said in a small voice. She was obviously hurt and confused by the sudden burst of anger from her master.

"Are you deaf?! I told you to get out!" Tsunade shouted even louder that before.

"Why are you screaming at me? I didn't do anything wrong!" Shizune tried to defend herself because she had no idea what she did to make Tsunade so mad at her.

"Fine! If you don't want to get out, I will." Tsunade declared and got out of her seat and headed towards her door.

"Where are you going?" Shizune asked somewhat concerned and still confused.

"None of your damn business, that's where!" Tsunade stormed out of the room, leaving a dumbfounded Shizune still standing there trying to come to terms with what just happened.

* * *

Tsunade walked the streets ignoring any greetings that the villagers offered her. She just kept walking until she came across a small restaurant that from the looks of it, had no people currently eating in there. She felt her stomach grumble, begging for food and decided to stop in there and get a bite to eat. Since it was empty she could have time alone to think her situation through and hopefully come up with a solution.

She entered the small building and was immediately greeted by a young waitress who was about seventeen years old. Her family probably owned the restaurant and gave her the job of being a waitress. She was quite friendly and excited to be serving the Hokage, "Welcome Lady Hokage." She said and bowed respectfully, "Would you like me to seat you at our best table?"

Tsunade shook her head, "No that's quite alright. I'll just sit in the back." Tsunade didn't wish to be featured at the best table in the house. She just wanted to go unnoticed, have her meal and try to come up with a solution to her problem.

The young waitress was slightly confused by her request for a table at the back but instead of insisting that she take the best table, she adhered to her wishes, "Ok Lady Hokage, follow me." She walked ahead of her and guided her to a secluded table in the corner of the back of the room, "I hope that this table is okay for you."

"It's perfect." Tsunade seated herself, "Thank you."

"Can I take your order?" She asked while pulling out her notepad and pen from the pocket of her apron.

"Just a bowl of rice and a serving of miso pork please."

The young lady wrote it down quickly, "Anything to drink?"

"I'll have some sa-" Tsunade stopped herself from saying the work 'sake' when she remembered that she could not drink for the sake of the infant growing inside of her. This was one of the many things that would change in Tsunade's life. She would not be able to have a drink for nine months and after that when the child is born she'll have very little to no time to indulge herself in her favorite drink especially with her job. Then she'll have to completely forget about gambling. It would be irresponsible of her to unnecessarily spend her money and then lose all of it when she has to meet the financial demands of a child. Nothing was going to be the same from here on out and Tsunade didn't quite come to terms with that until the waitress asked her what she wanted to drink, "I'll just have some herbal tea today."

The waitress wrote that down, "Right away Lady Hokage." She left quickly to place the order.

Tsunade closed her eyes for a few moments and her hand went up to her still flat stomach. It was hard for her to imagine her stomach expanding more and more each and every day until it was bigger than Choji's. She focused her chakra into her womb and sensed the tiny chakra that belonged to the unborn child. She could see how tiny it was an automatically felt a warm sensation overcome her upon picturing the tiny child. She imagined how the child would look in it's various stages of life, from baby to child to teenager to adult. She couldn't even keep the smile from emerging on her face when she pictured her and Jiraiya teaching the child how to walk, talk and when it grows older, jutsu. Regardless of how uncertain she is, this child that she is carrying is the product of the love that she has for Jiraiya and the love that he has for her. This was their child and would call her 'mommy' and him 'daddy'. Nothing in the world could change that so the thought of aborting the pregnancy didn't even come to her mind. Who was she to rob this child a chance at life? She rubbed small circles around her stomach and quietly spoke to her unborn child.

"You caused me a lot of stress today little one but I know it's not your fault. I guess I'm just nervous about failing you as a parent. I've never been a mother so I've never felt this feeling before but I feel this connection to you. And I know you're just a tiny ball of cells right now but I think I love you. So I guess we're stuck with each other from here on out. I hope I can be the mother that you deserve."

The meal came rather quickly but that was to be expected since there was nobody but Tsunade present in the restaurant. The waitress placed the hot plates on the table and then placed the steaming hot cup of tea beside them. Satisfied with the presentation of the meal in front of the Hokage, the young girl smiled, "I hope you enjoy your meal Lady Hokage."

"Thank you - Umm, I didn't get your name."

The girl blushed because she was so excited that Tsunade was asking her for her name, "Oh! My name is Nariko, Lady Hokage."

"Okay. Thank you Nariko."

The girl giggled and left her to consume her meal in peace. Tsunade broke her chopsticks in two and began to eat. She has never felt that hungry in her life and as a result, she devoured the food so fast that she wasn't quite sure where it all disappeared to. Her sudden feeling of extreme hunger didn't surprise her that much since she finally came to terms with the fact that she is pregnant and therefore eating for two and not just herself anymore. She then realized that she would have to eat healthy from now on. That wouldn't be so hard to do because as soon as Shizune finds out, she will ensure that her master stay on a strict healthy diet not just for the sake of the baby but for herself. A pregnant woman needs a lot of vitamins and minerals to remain healthy since most of it is being directed to the developing baby. Tsunade knew that but didn't like it one bit, especially the no alcohol part.

Tsunade remembered how cruel she was to Shizune. It wasn't right to treat her that way irregardless of how she was feeling because Shizune did nothing to deserve that treatment. All she wanted to do was ensure that she wasn't hungry and instead of being kind to her and allowing her to take her order for food, she snapped at her and told her to stop annoying her and get out. She felt awful for doing that to her. She looked down at her belly again and placed her hand on it, "It looks like I should go and apologize to Shizune huh?"

Tsunade signaled the waitress and was presented with the bill. She was offered a discount just for being the Hokage but refused it because they obviously needed all the money they could get since it was like a ghost town in there. She paid her fee and headed off in the direction of her mansion.

* * *

Tsunade entered the Hokage mansion and was walking towards her office when she met up with Shizune in the hall. It looked like Shizune wanted to say something to her but she didn't and kept walking until Tsunade called her back, "Shizune!"

The raven-haired jounin turned around to face her blonde mentor, "Yes Lady Tsunade?"

Tsunade grabbed her hand and leaded her in he direction of her office so that they could talk in private, "I want to speak with you in my office."

"O-Okay." Shizune allowed herself to be dragged, mostly because she was confused at Tsunade's sudden change in attitude. First she was like a seething, fire breathing dragon who was ready to bite of her head just for asking her what she wanted to eat and now she was as sweet as pie, talking in a calm manner and not even squeezing her hand tightly to carry her to her office. Shizune had no clue what was going on today.

When they got in the office, Tsunade closed the door behind them and went over to her windows to ensure that they were closed. After that she turned back to Shizune and was about to say something to her before she cut her off.

"What's up with you today Lady Tsunade? You're behaving so strange. First you're screaming at me then you stormed out for no reason and now you're calm. Did you and Master Jiraiya have a fight or something? Or are the stresses of your job getting to you? Please tell me what's wrong." Shizune was practically begging for an answer so there was no use in lying to her. She deserved to know the truth and there was nothing wrong in telling her the real reason for her mood swings. She wanted Jiraiya to know before anybody else but she still wasn't quite sure how to tell him so she needed someone to confide in and what better person than Shizune.

"You want to know why I've been acting so strange?" Tsunade asked and Shizune nodded, "Okay." Tsunade grabbed Shizune's hand with hers and placed it on her flat stomach. With her hand on top of her apprentice's she focused her chakra into her palm and sent it into Shizune's hand, that way, she could allow her to know what was going on inside of her and the cause of her mood swings. Shizune could sense everything in Tsunade's body and saw nothing strange within except when it came to her womb.

"I sense a different chakra but it doesn't belong to you, well half of it does and the other half belongs to Master Jiraiya." Shizune gasped for air out of complete shock upon realizing what that meant.

Tsunade was confident that her apprentice knew her little secret so she stopped her chakra flow and released her hand. Shizune looked at Tsunade with tears brewing in her dark eyes, "Congratulations Lady Tsunade!" Shizune wrapped her arms around her mentor tightly and her tears soaked the green fabric of her jacket, "I'm so happy for you!"

Tsunade lifted her arms up to return the hug but with each passing moment the hug became tighter and tighter, "Shizune, you're squishing me."

Shizune quickly let go but her arms still remained on Tsunade's shoulders, "I'm sorry Lady Tsunade, I'm just so happy for you." She wiped away her tears of joy and then smiled widely and squealed with excitement, "What will I be to your baby?" She asked eagerly.

Tsunade thought about it for a moment before she came up with an answer. They were not related by blood but Shizune was like family to her therefore she would be family to the child growing inside of her too, "Well, you are like a daughter to me so I guess that will make you my child's big sister."

Tears sprung in her eyes once again upon hearing that she would be the baby's big sister. She never had any siblings of her own so this baby would be so important to her and she would love it unconditionally and ensure that no harm will come to it for as long as she lives. The fact that Tsunade thinks of her as her own child only made Shizune feel special and loved. For all the years that she has known Tsunade, that was by far the best thing she had ever said to her, "Thank you Lady Tsunade!" She said and hugged her tightly again.

"You're squishing me again..."

Shizune broke away again and rubbed the back of her head nervously, "Hehe, sorry."

Tsunade shrugged it off and was about to return to her work until Shizune spoke up, "You have to tell the elders."

Tsunade turned around quickly almost giving herself whiplash upon hearing the word 'elders'. She was in no mood to see those two and be subjected to their scrutiny because she was the Hokage and having a baby out of wedlock, "Why do I have to tell them anything? They're just gonna judge me and it's none of their business anyway!" She said stubbornly.

"They're going to find out eventually you know and they'll be less angry if they find out sooner than later." Shizune explained. The village elders had the right to know about Tsunade's condition. Tsunade knew that but she was still reluctant to tell them. Her main reason for that is because she wanted to spite them for payback to what they did to her in regards of the Kage meeting.

"Do they really have to know?" Tsunade whined.

"Yes they do."

Tsunade sighed and reluctantly agreed to tell them, "Okay fine."

Shizune smiled, "Great!" She then grabbed Tsunade's hand and started to lead her out the door to the conference room where the elders spent most of their time, "Let's tell them now."

"What?! Why now?!" Tsunade tried to pull away from her assistant but she had a tight grip on her hand so it was hard to break away.

Shizune tightened her grip, "The sooner the better!"

* * *

Koharu and Homura, the village elders were sitting in the conference room, delicately sipping tea and looking out the window at the village, scrutinizing every bit of it and pointing out every flaw. They were just the kind of people who liked to complain about every and anything once they were not in complete control.

Shizune knocked twice before they gave her permission to enter. The two women walked through the door and the elders looked at them slightly confused.

"We don't have a scheduled meeting today so why are you two here?" Koharu asked.

Tsunade was reluctant to say anything so Shizune did all the talking, "Lady Tsunade has something important to tell you."

They all looked at Tsunade who just removed her focus from them to the door. She was silently planning her escape. She was going to throw a smoke bomb on the ground that would not only conceal her departure but also put them asleep for a few minutes so that they wouldn't come looking for her right away and that would give her some time to run away. After that she would flee to the Hidden Rain village and stay there until she had the baby and it grew up into a toddler. That way she could tell them that the child was simply a long lost relative's kid and all would be well. However her thoughts were interrupted when Koharu's annoying voice shrieked through the room, "Tsunade! Would you just tell us what you have to tell us and stop wasting our time!"

Tsunade glared at the old woman and sighed, realizing that her plan wouldn't work out. She couldn't just flee the village for more than nine months. She was the Hokage after all. If she did that she would just be labelled as a missing nin. Furthermore, everybody knew that she had no living relatives, "Okay." Tsunade took a seat and the elders sat down directly in front of her. She took a deep breath and began to speak to them, "It seems as if I have found myself in a situation. I don't find it to be an unfortunate one but I have to idea how you two will react."

"What kind of situation are you in Tsunade?" Homura asked nervously.

Instead of allowing Tsunade to answer, Koharu spoke up, "She probably just got herself buried in debt and is looking to us to bail her out. I don't see why she wouldn't find that unfortunate but then again she is Tsunade."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean you old bat?!" Tsunade felt herself become angrier and angrier. Here she was trying to calmly tell them about her condition out of respect and there Koharu was being her usual self and disrespecting her. Tsunade wanted to give her what she deserved and punch her into next week but she knew that would only cause a huge problem between her and the council, not to mention the old man sitting before her.

"You are an irresponsible gambler so I wouldn't expect any better from you. However, I'm not sure if we can lend you money to pay off your debt. After all there is no guarantee that you'll pay us back given your track record. You're going to pay it off yourself and we'll try out best to keep this from the general public. What a disgrace it would be if they found out that their Hokage was a raging gambling lunatic. Okay, we have come to an agreement so you can leave now so I can get back to my tea." Koharu said in a condescending voice that drove Tsunade insane.

Tsunade couldn't suppress her anger and started to shout on top of her voice, "YOU OLD HAG! I DIDN'T COME HERE TO ASK YOU TO PAY MY NON-EXISTENT DEBT, I CAME HERE TO TELL YOU THAT I'M PREGNANT! AND EVEN IF I DID HAVE A DEBT I SURE AS HELL WOULDN'T COME OVER HERE TO ASK YOU TWO ASS HOLES FOR ANYTHING!"

They looked at her lost for words. They couldn't believe what they just heard, "Did you just say that you're pregnant?" Homura asked, ignoring the fact that she thoroughly cussed them out. He decided that he would address that at another time.

"I understand that you're old but seriously get a hearing aid. You heard correctly, I am pregnant."

"W-Who's the father?" He asked.

"Homura, he's probably some scum off the street. You should know that." Koharu chimed in, once again preventing Tsunade from answering for herself which only further angered her.

"Do you want me to kill you?" Tsunade threatened and then ignored her because she was starting to feel nauseous again, "If you must know, the father of my child is Jiraiya."

The elders looked at each other with expressions of shock. Tsunade knew from the looks of it that she was about to get a long lecture about how it is not ideal to have children out of wedlock and how bad it looks on the Hokage to be caught in a situation like that. She decided that she would just tune them out and when she felt better, ask Shizune about everything they said so that she could come in here another day to cuss them out. However, she saw as they walked hurriedly towards her and pulled her into a tight hug. She was lost for words and slightly disturbed because they were hugging her. They never touched her before much less hug her. It didn't help her feelings of complete and utter discomfort when Koharu placed her palm on her stomach and rubbed it slightly.

"W-Why are you two hugging me?" Tsunade asked confused but they continued to hug her, "Get off, you're squishing me!"

They let go of her and to Tsunade's surprise, wiped away tears from their eyes, "Why are you crying as well?!"

They giggled and Homura spoke up, "We're just excited about your pregnancy."

Tsunade and Shizune exchanged looks of complete shock and shouted, "WHAT?!" In union.

"A child from two of the legendary Sannin, what a joy! The child will only grow up to be one of the strongest ninja out there. It will have your medical abilities, excellent chakra control and strength!" Koharu squealed with excitement.

"And it will have Jiraiya's rasengan and mastery of the sage jutsu!" Homura added.

"We must make preparations at once to tell the population of this great news so that neighboring lands will find out and be so jealous of our little unborn child of greatness!"

"Then we must throw a grand party in the village! Everybody should be in attendance to celebrate this wonderful time in the history of the Leaf Village!"

"And when the child is born, we should have another celebration to welcome it to the world! That should be televised so everybody in this world can see the greatest child to emerge from the leaf village!"

Tsunade was confused by all the plans they had in mind for her unborn baby. They wanted parties, feasts and televised events while she just wanted to tell Jiraiya. He was the father and he deserved to know before all of that but from the looks of it, the elders wanted her to announce her pregnancy to the world right at this moment, "Hold on a minute!" She interrupted their planning and they looked at her.

"There will be no announcements or parties of any kind until I tell Jiraiya. Nobody and I repeat nobody should know about this so you two need to keep your mouths shut. Understood?" Tsunade demanded.

They were hesitant at first because they were just so excited about the news but they decided to respect her wishes. They had this newly developed respect for her since she was carrying what they called 'their little unborn child of greatness', "Okay Tsunade, we'll keep this to ourselves but please let us know as soon as you tell him. We wish to make the announcement soon."

"You two can plan with Shizune. Whatever she says you follow her. She knows exactly what I would want and what I wouldn't."

They looked at Shizune who was smiling because she was excited to be involved in the planning. They however, didn't want her to help but respected Tsunade's wishes, "Fine."

"Good. I think we're done here. You two can get back to your tea now, come on Shizune." Tsunade walked out the door with Shizune by her side.

"Okay, take care of yourself and the baby Tsunade!" The elders called out happily as Tsunade continued to walk. She was going to take some medicine to suppress her nausea and then finish up her work for the day.

* * *

Tsunade was finally finished her work for the day and thankfully, she got through it without having a complete breakdown. Well, she did lash out at Shizune but after that she came to grips with her reality then apologized. She thought the most shocking thing for the day would be the news of her pregnancy but it was actually the fact that the elders approved of it that shocked her the most.

She was now in her room, waiting for Jiraiya to come home. Even though she allowed herself to be happy about her pregnancy, she would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous to tell the father of her child. Ever since she met him she knew him to be a care free person who didn't like to be held down. That's the main reason why he didn't want to become the Hokage. Therefore, she didn't know how he would react to the news of him becoming a father. The baby would drastically change his life. He wouldn't be free to do as he pleased and spend his money of the most frivolous of things. But then again, did he even want to be a father? Did he want to be involved? If he doesn't then he would probably leave her for another woman without a child so that he can continue to be free. That would break her. In the event that he does leave her, can she raise a child on her own?

These questions and possibilities played over and over in her mind, consuming her every thought. Her heart pounded in her chest when she heard her door creak open, revealing the white haired Sannin. He closed the door behind him and walked over to her to place a small kiss on her cheek, "I missed you."

She was so nervous, it was hard for her to talk but she managed to smile and talk to him, "Me too." She replied and he sat beside her on the rather large bed, "How was the mission?"

He smirked upon remembering his travels with Naruto, "The mission was a success but the knucklehead wanted to train every second."

"Same old Naruto..." Her mind trailed off and she remembered that she had to tell him, he deserved to know.

He could see that something was on her mind and asked her to tell him about it, "What's wrong?"

She looked at him with nervous eyes and took a deep breath, "I have something that I need to tell you... It's important..."

_To be continued..._

* * *

**This chapter confirmed that I am indeed a NaruxHina fan :)**

**So I did what I did and made Tsunade pregnant because I want to keep this story going. I don't want it to just end with Tsunade and Jiraiya making up and living happily ever after. I think it will be interesting to see how these two handle raising a child together. So I hope you guys will stick by my with this.**

**Please leave a review and tell me what you think!**

**Thanks so much for your continued support.**


	11. Secret Revealed

"I have something that I need to tell you... It's important..."

Jiraiya nodded, understanding that what she had to tell him was really important but he just thought it was something to do with the Akatsuki. He thought that perhaps the worried look on her face was because she knew that she had to send him off to pursue one of the Akatsuki members again. He moved closer to her and placed his hand upon her smaller one, "Look Tsunade, if you have to send me out to fight one of the Akatsuki guys then I understand. I'm the best person for the job, I know that but I don't want you to worry or get depressed if I end up not coming back. Just know that I love you okay."

She removed her stare from her lap to the man beside her. She used her free hand to gently caress his cheek, "You're crazy if you think I would ever do that to you again." She took a deep breath and saw that he was wondering what she had to tell him. She figured that she couldn't hide her pregnancy from him for long and she didn't even want to do that. She wanted him to be aware of it and hopefully want to be involved in every aspect of the pregnancy and the baby's life when it is born. However, she didn't know how he would react and would never know unless she pushed all her anxiety away and tell him.

"Okay, so what do you want to tell me?" He asked.

She closed her eyes for a moment and after looked straight at him and their eyes connected, "I'm pregnant Jiraiya."

It was silent and Tsunade started to panic so in order to break the deafening silence she rambled on, trying to make it seem as if she didn't care if he didn't want to get involved, "You don't even have to be involved if you don't want to and I completely understand if you want out of this relationship. I mean, I know how much you like to be free, that's the main reason why you didn't become the Hokage. I-I'll be fine raising this baby in my own, well I hope so. But don't worry about-"

He stopped her rambling with a soft kiss on her lips. He pulled away and placed his large hand on her flat stomach and rubbed it gently. He then took his free hand and cupped her right cheek and smiled, "What would make you think that I don't want to be involved? I love you and I love this baby and I'm so happy that I'm going to be a father."

She was completely shocked at his reaction. She could hardly stop the tears from forming in her hazel eyes and falling down her cheeks, "Are you sure?"

He used the pad of his thumb to wipe away her fallen tears, "Of course I'm sure. I've never thought of becoming a father before but now that you told me that I am going to be one, I can't help but be excited. You know why?"

She gently shook her head, "It's because you are going to be the mother of my child. What better person to have a baby with than the woman I love?"

She smiled and a soft giggle escaped her lips. She wiped away the remainder of her tears and he removed his hand, "Well that's a relief." She changed her sitting position to lay on her side on the bed and Jiraiya did the same. They were now facing each other and he was smiling uncontrollably. His smile was so contagious that she couldn't help but smile as well, "You have got to stop smiling like that, you're creeping me out." She laughed.

"I'm sorry, it's just that I'm so happy!" He exclaimed but then suppressed his excitement because he could tell that she was tired and wanted to sleep, "How far along are you?"

She calculated the date in which she was sure that they conceived the child and came up with an answer, "About three weeks."

He marveled at how she was pregnant for three weeks and he had no idea nor did she, "So do you know if we're having a boy or a girl?" He was eager to know the gender of the child so that they could start picking out names and baby furniture suitable for the gender. If he could have his way, he would just fast forward to the time when she will be ready to have the baby. But of course that was not possible so he had to wait patiently for nine months to meet his child.

She shook her head, "No, it's too early to determine the gender of the baby."

"Oh." He pouted, slightly disappointed and wished that there was some sort of jutsu to speed up the pregnancy, "I hope we have a boy. That way he can inherit all my good looks." He said proudly and she punched him gently for his arrogance, "How about you, do you want a boy or a girl?"

She thought about it for a second and came to the conclusion that she didn't care whether it was a boy or a girl. No matter what it turns out to be she would love it unconditionally and do all that she can to protect it, "It doesn't matter to me. As long as the baby is healthy I'm fine."

"Oh come on, that's such a boring answer!" He whined, "Just pick a gender." He wanted to know what she wanted to have almost as much as he wanted to know the gender.

Realizing that he was not going to quit pestering her, she gave him an answer, "Okay fine, if I could choose I would want a girl. However, neither you nor I have any control over the sex of our child."

A girl. He couldn't believe that he could possibly have a daughter. But then he realized that she would probably inherit Tsunade's beauty and fell in love with the idea of having a mini Tsunade, "If we have a girl she'll be beautiful just like her mother. That means I'm going to keep all those perverted creeps and their wondering eyes away from her." He said protectively. He swore that he would do anything to keep her out of harms way and out of the hands of disgusting perverted men. The world that they lived in was so dangerous and unpredictable that he would die first before he would allow anything or anybody to hurt his precious daughter or son.

Tsunade laughed at his statement, "Isn't that ironic coming from the world's number one pervert?" She teased. The man who did not hesitate to get a peep at girls in the hot springs was now talking about injuring any pervert who would want to take advantage of his possible daughter.

"It'll be completely different since she will be my daughter. I don't want any low life creep to peep at her! If they do I'll beat them to a pulp!"

"That's good because now I'll have a partner to help me do that." She smiled.

He wondered if he was the only person who knew about the pregnancy although he highly doubted it. He figured that she told Shizune first but he wasn't sure if the entire village knew yet, "So who else knows about your condition?"

"Just Shizune and the elders. They want to announce it to the village tomorrow and believe it or not, they're really excited about it. They even hugged me. And that Koharu out her pruny old lady hands on my stomach." She said in disgust and a shiver ran down her spine just thinking about the two most annoying old hags in the world's bodies pressed against hers in a tight, un welcomed hug.

"That's strange I thought they hated you." He said. He out of all people knew how tense things were between them so it was quite a shock to hear that they didn't lecture her or argue with her but instead they hugged her and was genuinely happy for her.

"They're just excited that it's the baby of two of the Sannin. After the baby is born, they'll stop being nice to me and focus all their attention on the kid." She explained, knowing that this was only temporary.

"Can we tell Naruto before the village finds out? I want him to know before." Jiraiya wanted him to know before the village because he was like family to him, so that ,want the baby would be his family as well. It was important to him.

"Sure. We'll just tell him the first thing in the morning." Tsunade was planning on telling him before regardless. Like Jiraiya, Naruto was special to her.

"Great. Thanks." He kissed her cheek, showing his gratitude.

"No problem, I want him to know before everyone else too. I'm really tired so I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Tsunade." He touched her belly once again, "Goodnight baby."

The more they spoke about the pregnancy, the more eager they became at the prospect of becoming parents. Neither ever thought they would ever be parents but now that it was becoming a reality, they welcomed it not only because they both felt a connection towards the developing baby, but they were happy that they would raise it together, as a family.

* * *

Naruto was fast asleep on his small bed in his small apartment when he heard an obnoxious knock on his door followed by a deep masculine voice telling him to open the door. His eyes flickered open and he grumbled in annoyance. The knocking persisted and he cursed under his breath while getting out of his position and walking slowly and miserably to the door to find out what his unwanted visitor wanted. He placed his tired eye to the peep hole of his door only to see his white haired sensei standing on the other side of the door, still knocking and calling his name over and over again. He reluctantly opened the door, revealing his master.

"Get dressed Naruto, Tsunade wants to see you." Jiraiya instructed his student but instead of jumping into action, Naruto rubbed his eyes and yawned, "Why are you still standing here, get moving!"

Naruto looked at his sensei tiredly and turned away to look at the clock hanging on the wall. It was five past six in the morning. That was way too early for the genin, "Pervy sage, do you realize what time it is?"

Jiraiya looked down at his watch and noticed the time. He agreed that it was early but today was a busy day for Tsunade so she had to tell Naruto about her condition as early as possible so that she could spend the day focusing on her work. In addition to that, the elders were planning on telling the entire village the good news at noon so Naruto had to know before all of that, "Look kid, I know it's early but this is really important so get dressed and let's go."

"I have to eat first." Naruto replied and walked into his apartment to get ready to go to the Hokage and Jiraiya followed him, shutting the door behind him.

"You don't have time to eat!" Jiraiya told him and took a seat at the young boy's kitchen table to wait.

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day so I'm not gonna miss it for the world! Granny just has to wait!" He called out from his bathroom and Jiraiya sighed.

"Whatever kid just make it quick!" Jiraiya said annoyed and decided to raid his fridge while he was in the bathroom. He opened it and found a couple of eggs, a carton of milk and a half eaten chocolate bar, "_This kid barely has any food. Well I guess that's too be expected since he practically lives at Ichiraku Ramen."_ He thought to himself. Feeling somewhat hungry himself because he didn't have any breakfast either, he decided to have the chocolate bar. He retrieved it from the fridge and began to eat it. He looked around the small apartment. There wasn't much to see other than his small kitchen area, complete with a wooden table with two wooden chairs, a mini fridge and a sink and his bed which sat in the corner of the room, under the window. There was a picture on the window sill of team seven. Jiraiya could tell that Naruto kept that photo dear to his heart, probably because it reminded him of happier times when Sasuke was around. Suddenly the toad sage felt bad for the boy. All his life, he was alone and when he was old enough, he moved into this small apartment. All his friends had parents but Naruto didn't have anybody in the world. He lived here all by himself and supported himself and never once did he complain or get others to feel sorry for him. He just kept living. That was a truly admirable trait that he possessed. Jiraiya vowed to himself that he would never abandon his student because he was his godfather and would always be there for him. Even if all his friends abandoned him, Jiraiya would always be there, looking out for him and making sure that he was okay. It's the least he can do since Minato entrusted that to him.

Naruto emerged from the bathroom wearing his regular orange and black jumpsuit and dried his hair with a white towel. He saw Jiraiya looking at his picture but he focused his attention to the bar of chocolate that was in his master's possession, "HEY PERVY SAGE WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY CHOCOLATE BAR?! I WAS PLANNING ON EATING THAT YA KNOW!"

Jiraiya turned around to see Naruto with his face reddened due to anger but he simply laughed, "Pipe down kid. It's not good to eat chocolate this early in the morning anyway."

"So why are you eating it?!"

"Because I am the great Jiraiya so I can do whatever I want to do." He smiled and stuffed the rest of the chocolate in his mouth and purposefully made sounds of satisfaction while chewing it to taunt his student.

"You owe me a chocolate bar old man." He grumbled and went to his cupboard to retrieve a box of sugary cereal. He also took out a small bowl and a spoon and went into his fridge that was now lacking a half eaten chocolate bar and took out his carton of milk, "Didn't want milk to wash the chocolate down?" He asked Jiraiya sarcastically.

The sage looked at the carton and suddenly wished that he took it out as well, "Now that you mention it I would love some milk." He smiled.

"No way! I was only kidding you know!" He opened the box of cereal, poured some in his bowl and poured the milk on top. He felt satisfied upon seeing the white liquid coming from the carton and was glad that it wasn't chunky. He's not a fan of milk so whenever he buys some, they usually stay in his fridge until they curdle. Sometimes he's too tired in the morning while getting ready to start his day that he doesn't even realize that his milk is spoilt and ends up consuming it which only results in a nasty stomach ache and hours upon hours in the bathroom.

"So what does Granny Tsunade want now?" He asked before stuffing a spoonful of cereal in his mouth.

"You'll find out when you get there." Jiraiya could simply tell the boy right now but Tsunade wanted to tell him together. He decided to honor her wishes because he knew that if he didn't, he would get beaten into next month.

"Ugh, it's probably another lame mission isn't it?" He whined, "Granny needs to send me on missions that are suitable for my skills, not some beginner stuff like escorting a rich dude home." He complained. Little did he know that Tsunade was just sending him on easier missions to protect him from the Akatsuki. After all, she agreed to do that at the Kage meeting.

"Technically, based on your ninja rank you still are a beginner. Isn't that right little genin?" Jiraiya teased.

"YOU KNOW THAT'S NOT MY FAULT PERVY SAGE, I WAS OUT TRAINING WITH YOU AND I GUARANTEE THAT IF I STAYED IN THE VILLAGE I WOULD HAVE BECOME A CHUNIN AS WELL!" He shouted while accidentally sending chunks of cereal from his mouth flying across the table and landing on his master's face.

"Calm down kid!" Jiraiya said while wiping away the food from his face, "You really don't know how to take a joke."

Naruto grumbled and finished his breakfast. Jiraiya got up and headed towards the door, "Come on Naruto let's go. You know Tsunade, she doesn't like to be kept waiting."

Naruto grabbed his forehead protector and followed Jiraiya, "Yeah, yeah I know." He mumbled while tying his forehead protector onto his forehead and walked beside his mater to the Hokage mansion.

* * *

Tsunade was looking out her window at the village. She had a perfect view of everything, from the concrete buildings to the lush greenery that made up the beautiful Leaf Village. The sun was shining brilliantly over the entire village and there were a few white, fluffy clouds in the sky that provided comfortable shade over certain areas. It was a beautiful day and also the day when the entire village will find out about her pregnancy. She was somewhat nervous because she didn't know how everyone will react to the news. Maybe some would be skeptical because she was having a child out of wedlock or maybe some would be extremely happy for her. Whatever their reaction will be, she was happy to be having a baby and so was Jiraiya and in her eyes that was all that mattered.

Shizune entered the room carrying a tray with a cup of hot herbal tea sitting on top of it. She placed it down on the desk and watched as her master looked out at the village and smiled as she saw her hand gently rest on top of her flat stomach. She had no doubt in her mind that Tsunade would be a good mother. She only worried that Tsunade would forget not to curse in the presence of the baby. Other than that, she knew that she would love it unconditionally and take good care of it. Shizune wished that she too could be given the opportunity to have a family as well. Of course Tsunade was like her family but she longed for a romantic relationship with a man and perhaps down the line, a child of her own. All her life, she travelled with Tsunade and had little to no time to meet new people. However, when she returned to the village a few years back, she met a man named Genma. He was also one of Tsunade's assistants like Izumo and Kotetsu, only he wasn't given minimal tasks like fetching Tsunade some books from the library or be put on gate duty. Instead, he was responsible for guarding the Hokage from any danger that may come her way. Shizune found him to be attractive and he took a liking to her but she was too shy to get to know him. To her surprise but joy, he asked her out on a date today so she was more than excited to go. She felt that perhaps this date could be the first of many. After all, he was a nice guy.

"How are you feeling today Lady Tsunade?" Shizune asked.

Tsunade turned around to her assistant and smiled, "I'm good but kind of nervous about the village's reaction to my pregnancy."

"I'm sure everybody will be happy for you." Shizune reassured and Tsunade shrugged. She wanted to tell Tsunade about her date so she began to further engage her in conversation, "Lady Tsunade can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure. What's up?" Tsunade decided to lend an ear to her student because she was also her friend and friends listen to each other's problems.

"Well, I've never been on a date before so I'm kind of nervous. I don't know what to do or what to say-"

"You have a date?" Tsunade asked, cutting Shizune off, "With who?!" Tsunade was genuinely shocked. She didn't know that Shizune was interested in anybody in the village so this was quite a surprise.

"Genma Shiranui." Shizune confessed.

"Genma as in my bodyguard Genma?" Tsunade asked and Shizune nodded, "I didn't know that you two had a thing for each other. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well, we don't really have a thing, I mean, I think he's cute and a nice guy. That's it. But I'm really happy that he finally asked me out regardless of the fact that I didn't lead him on or make an effort to get to know him." Shizune explained.

"That means he liked you!" Tsunade squealed, "If I knew that before I would have set you two up a long time ago. It's about time that you get some action!" Shizune was thirty years old and was never in a meaningful relationship with a man ever so Tsunade wanted her to venture out in the dating world and find somebody who truly cared for her. She agreed that Genma was a nice guy so she was more than positive that everything would go smoothly and hopefully she would hear wedding bells and a crying baby down the line.

"Lady Tsunade!" Shizune said embarrassed. Her cheeks flushed red while Tsunade went on about weddings and babies. She understood that Tsunade just wanted her to be happy but it was only one date and there was no telling what would happen.

"I'll help you get ready for your date. I'm pretty sure you don't have anything sexy to wear so I suggest you get in touch with your friend Kurenai and ask her to borrow one of her dresses since you can't fit into my clothes. I'll even do your hair and makeup! I'm so excited I feel like I'm sending my daughter off to her prom." Tsunade smiled widely. She seemed more excited than Shizune.

Shizune was reluctant but agreed since it was clear that Tsunade was over the moon about the entire thing, "Okay Lady Tsunade, if it makes you happy, you can help me get ready."

"Yay! Thank you!" Tsunade smiled and gave Shizune a big hug, "You're going to be gorgeous."

Shizune returned the smile and proceeded to exit the room when Naruto and Jiraiya came walking in. She greeted them and left the room in order to find Kurenai so that she could ask her to borrow her clothes or accompany her shopping.

"You look happy, what's up?" Jiraiya asked, noticing Tsunade's smile.

She stopped smiling and decided not to tell the two men about Shizune's plans. She was embarrassed enough to tell her about it so she wouldn't appreciate it if Naruto and Jiraiya knew as well, "Oh nothing."

"So what did you want me for Granny?" Naruto grumbled, "Don't tell me it's another lame mission. You know I am a top ninja so easy missions are beneath me. You should start giving me more complicated ones that are up to my standards." He said condescendingly which only annoyed Tsunade.

"A real top ninja wouldn't complain or question the missions he is given idiot!" She shouted, clearly annoyed at Naruto's statement, "You haven't changed at all you know that."

"Okay, okay, just give me my mission so I can hurry and get it over with." He grumbled again.

"I didn't call you here to give you a mission. You just came back from one yesterday so do you really think that I would send you out today?"

"I wouldn't blame you if you did, I mean, I am an exceptional ninja and the future sixth Hokage. I'm so awesome I wouldn't be surprised if you just quit and give me your hat now."

"_That moron, is he trying to get himself killed?"_ Jiraiya wondered, slightly afraid of how Tsunade would react after Naruto's boasting.

Tsunade walked over to the boy and grabbed him by his collar and brought him close to her face, "WOULD YOU STOP GOING ON LIKE YOUR THE BEST NINJA IN THE ENTIRE WORLD AND SHUT UP FOR JUST A SECOND! IS IT SO IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU TO DO THAT?!" She shouted which caused Naruto to shiver in fear.

She let go of him and he cowered behind Jiraiya, "Okay,I'm sorry Granny, what did you want me for then if I'm not getting a mission?"

Tsunade took a calming breath before she spoke again, "Stop hiding behind Jiraiya and be a man. I'm not going to kill you. Besides, if I really wanted to hurt you, Jiraiya couldn't protect you."

Another shiver ran down Naruto's spine and he cautiously and reluctantly stepped away from behind Jiraiya to face Tsunade who was now standing before him.

"I called you here to tell you about something that involves me and Jiraiya." She stated.

"What could that be?" Naruto asked confused and wondered why Tsunade would tell him about something between her and Jiraiya. He just hoped that it wasn't anything weird.

"It turns out that I'm pregnant Naruto, I'm going to have a baby and Jiraiya is the father."

Naruto was quiet for once in his life as he tried to process his newly received information. His Hokage and his sensei were having a baby together. He was having a hard time coming to grips with that, "H-How is that even possible? You're a granny and he's super old too."

Tsunade decided to ignore the fact that he said that she was a granny, "Look kid, it's possible alright." She didn't want to get into details with him regarding the fact that her transformation jutsu allows her to have the normal bodily functions of a young woman. She just felt like that was too personal.

"But for you to be pregnant that means that you and Pervy Sage had to... EWWW GROSS!" Naruto was disgusted upon realizing what the Sannin had to do in order to have a baby. The thought of those two being intimate with each other repulsed him.

"You're so immature Naruto!" Jiraiya said annoyed. The kid was sixteen years old and yet he was acting like a child. Most would think that he would grow up a little but some things never change.

Naruto shook all the disturbing mental images away and asked another question, "So why did you two bring me in here just to tell me this? I mean, the entire village will have to find out eventually so why did you want to tell me before everybody else?"

"Because Naruto, believe it or not, we think of you as apart of our family and we didn't want to keep you in the dark when it comes to something as happy as this." Jiraiya said happily.

Family. Naruto never knew what it was like to have a family and here he was standing before two people who thought of him as a member of their family. He couldn't help but smile. He walked over to Tsunade and gave her a gentle hug, "Congratulations Granny." He said softly and let go of her, "That baby is lucky because it will have two awesome parents." He stated which caused the two Sannin to smile.

Jiraiya moved closer to the boy and ruffled his hair, "You can even teach the baby your multi shadow clone jutsu."

"You bet Pervy Sage! Before you know it that kid will be as awesome as me. I just hope it's a boy."

Tsunade twitched at his statement, "If it is a boy I forbid you from teaching him your sexy jutsu. I don't want you to corrupt my child like how how corrupted Konohamaru!"

"Relax Granny, I'll also teach him my rasengan and how to eat ten bowls of ramen in less than five minutes!" He said proudly.

"My poor baby..." Tsunade mumbled.

Naruto laughed and headed towards the door, "Anyway, I'm going to meet up with Hinata. See ya later!" He exited the room and left the two Sannin alone.

"Who knew that kid could be so sweet." Tsunade said, remembering the hug he gave her and when he told them that they're baby is going to be lucky to be born to awesome parents.

"He's a good kid." Jiraiya agreed.

"I'll kill him if he teaches our potential son that perverted jutsu of his though." She said with seriousness in her tone. She was already living with one pervert so she didn't need another one in her presence.

She went back to her work and tried to mentally prepare herself for the announcement while Jiraiya left her to do so in peace.

* * *

Shizune arrived at Kurenai Yuhi's house. The two have been friends ever since she returned to the village. She knocked on the wooden door and was greeted by Kurenai who was in her third trimester of pregnancy. She looked rosy and ready to have her baby. Unfortunately, her child would be without a father since Asuma Sarutobi tragically died when pursuing a member of the Akatsuki. Unlike Tsunade, Kurenai wasn't so lucky to have the one she loved return to her from death.

"Hi Shizune. What brings you here at this time of the day? I thought you would be working." Kurenai asked while stepping aside, allowing Shizune to enter her house.

"Lady Tsunade instructed me to come here." Shizune explained.

"That's unusual. Is something wrong?"

"No, it's just that I have a date with Genma and because I'm a plain Jane who doesn't have sexy clothes, Lady Tsunade wants me to ask you to borrow one of your dresses."

Kurenai smiled at the fact that Shizune was finally going out with a man, "I'll be more than happy to lend you a dress. After all, I won't be needing it since I can't even fit in it anymore." She said while holding her bulging belly. It was enormous and Shizune was having a hard time imaging Tsunade with a belly that big.

"Thanks Kurenai."

"No problem, follow me." She said as she walked towards her bedroom. Shizune followed behind.

Kurenai entered her room and opened her closet to reveal an extensive collection of dresses. She had an eye for fashion and loved to look nice. Thankfully, she wore the same size as Shizune. No doubt, Shizune would look amazing for her date and would have Genam drooling all night long. She pulled out a short black dress and instructed Shizune to try it on in the bathroom. After dressing, she came out wearing the dress. The dress stopped just above her knees and hugged her curves. The neckline cut low to reveal some cleavage but since Shizune wasn't a busty woman it didn't reveal too much. She looked nice and the dress went great with her regular heels. A nice hairstyle and perfectly applied makeup would complete the look.

"I think you look great Shizune." Kurenai complimented her friend, "It fits you like a glove."

"You really think so?" Shizune asked, obviously feeling unsure of herself. She never wore anything that revealing before and was nervous about wearing it on her date.

"Trust me Shizune, I know what looks good and what doesn't and as your friend I would tell you if your outfit looks horrible, but I'm telling you that you look hot and Genma is going to love it." She assured her, "And I'm sure Lady Tsunade is going to think so as well."

Shizune thought about it for a while and when looking at herself in the mirror, she came to the conclusion that she really did look good. She also felt good about herself and she deserved to feel that way. Every woman should feel great about themselves and Shizune was no different, "Okay Kurenai, I'll wear this."

"Fantastic! You're going to look so hot."

* * *

Koharu entered Tsunade's office. It was now time to inform the village about the news regarding their Hokage. It was intended to be a joyous occasion but Tsunade was still worried about how everybody would react to the news, "It's time Tsunade. Everybody is gathered and waiting on you. I'll do all the talking and you and Jiraiya will stand next to each other." She explained and Tsunade rose to her feet and walked over to the older woman, "How are you feeling today by the way Tsunade? I trust that you and the baby are alright."

Tsunade cringed at the lady's kindness towards her but decided to take advantage of her kindness while she could. After all it's not everyday that Koharu is nice to her, "We're fine for now but after this I may need a foot massage."

"I'll see to it that somebody gives you foot massage after the announcement." Koharu said as they walked up the stairs towards the roof.

"That would be great." Tsunade said happily and felt victorious within. She would miss this kindness once the baby is born and she is no longer pregnant.

They arrived on the roof and Tsunade stood beside Jiraiya as she was told. She looked out at the entire population of the village standing before her mansion, looking at her, expecting to hear some news. Her nervousness increased and Jiraiya noticed this. He gently took her hand into his and gave it a light reassuring squeeze, "It's going to be alright." He whispered.

She nodded her head slightly and knew that whatever happened she would always have Jiraiya beside her, supporting her and their baby.

"Greetings citizens of Konoha." Koharu started, "As you all know, I have called you here to inform you of a very important and joyous event that will happen in the history of the Leaf Village."

The crowd went silent as they listened keenly for the news. Surely it was bound to be something great, "Tsunade Senju, our fifth Hokage is pregnant with her fellow teammate and Sannin, Jiraiya's child."

All was still and silent and Tsunade swore that everybody could hear the pounding of her heart in her chest. She squeezed Jiraiya's hand tighter and he thought that she was going to break it. He winced in pain but allowed her to squeeze his hand because he knew that she was very nervous. Suddenly the crowd went wild and all started to cheer happily and words of congratulations were heard among them. Tsunade loosened her grip on his hand and breathed a sigh of relief and so did Jiraiya, mostly because his hand was saved from being broken. Koharu lifted her hand to silence the excited to crowd and continued to speak, "This child will be a prodigy since it is the offspring of two of the most powerful Shinobi in the history of Konoha. We all have high expectations for this child because it will be nothing short of excellent in all that it does."

Tsunade felt as if Koharu was placing too much expectations on her unborn child, even though it would be the child of two of the Sannin, there was no guarantee that it would be an exceptional Shinobi. She just didn't want her child to be pressured and feel as if it had to live up to everybody's expectations. If that were the case, then Tsunade would do all that she could to protect it.

"Please extend your congratulations to Tsunade and Jiraiya." Koharu instructed and motioned for them to move up to the front so that the crowd could see them more clearly. They did as they were told and the crowd shouted, "Congratulations!" Tsunade was relieved that the news was well received by the members of the village. She was happy that her child would be born into this village because she knew that it would be well loved.

"Okay, Tsunade has to get back to work now so you all can go about your daily lives again." Koharu said and everybody started to move away to continue their activities.

There was a sense of happiness that bubbled through the village after that. Everybody spoke of the great news and of course Naruto was boasting that he was told by Tsunade herself before everybody else. Some people envied him and others weren't surprised since he brought her back to the village. Out of all his classmates, he was the closest to her and he prided himself with that.

"You must be relieved." Jiraiya said.

"Of course I am." Tsunade replied, "I was so nervous that I almost broke all of your fingers."

"Thanks for not doing that by the way. I need my fingers in tact to do many things."

Koharu approached Tsunade with a random man beside her, "Tsunade, this man here is going to give you a foot massage."

Jiraiya turned to Tsunade and whispered in her ear, "A foot massage? How did you get her to do that for you?"

"I'll tell you about it later." She whispered back to him and turned to her masseuse, "Okay, I'm ready." She smiled happily and went to get her well deserved massage. This was something she could get used to.

* * *

**I think it's about time for Shizune to get a man, don't you? **

**In the next chapter we will find out the gender of the baby! Boy or girl, you choose by leaving me a review telling me which one to pick. **

**As usual, thank you all for reading. **


	12. Hormones and Genders

"JIRAIYA GET YOUR ASS IN HERE!" Tsunade shouted from her bedroom. She was in a foul, cranky mood and Jiraiya was in for an extremely unpleasant encounter with her.

He entered the room cautiously, wondering what he did wrong now. He saw her sitting up in their bed with the sheets covering the lower part of her body and she was wearing an expression that showed that she was extremely miserable. She now had a slight bulge instead of her usual flat stomach. That was to be expected since she was now in her thirteenth week of pregnancy. The baby's organs were now developing so the gender could be determined. They were going to find out what they were having later on in the day when Shizune returned from her early morning breakfast date with Genma. She has been spending so much time with him lately and things were going well between them. That was the reason why Shizune wasn't there to attend to Tsunade's needs. Therefore, Jiraiya had to do everything, much to his displeasure. She was cranky and because her hormones were running wild today, her crankiness was unbearable.

"W-What's wrong Tsunade?" He said nervously, unsure if he wanted to hear her answer.

She looked at him with a straight face, "I'm hungry. Go get some of those sweet dumplings, I'm having this annoying craving for them."

"But doesn't Shizune do that?" He asked. Shizune always got Tsunade things to eat and anything else she wanted while Jiraiya would massage her back if needed. So he couldn't understand for the life of him why he was being told to get her food.

"She does but right now she's on a date." Tsunade explained, "But you shouldn't be concerned with that." She pointed to her bulging stomach and continued, "You did this to me so the only thing that you should be concerned about is doing everything I tell you to do."

"A date? Since when does Shizune go on dates?!" He asked extremely confused. From all the years he has known Shizune he never saw her go on a date before.

"Since Genma started to ask her now stop asking me questions and get me some damn food!"

"Wait! Genma is going out with Shizune! Since when?!"

Tsunade felt the anger inside her start to bubble and rise. She reached over to her side table and retrieved a heavy book, "If you don't get out right now I'm going to throw this book at your head. And trust me, just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean that I'll throw it lightly and I guarantee that I won't miss. SO GET THE HELL OUT NOW!"

"Okay, okay!" Jiraiya said while running out the room in fear of the wrath of Tsunade. He only wished that she could have the baby now so that she would stop being so cranky and demanding. If only wishes came true.

* * *

Jiraiya made his way over to the local shop that sold the best sweet dumplings in the village. Tsunade hated them but now she was craving them. Pregnant women really did have weird cravings. Never in his life did Jiraiya believe that he would be buying sweet dumplings for her. But there is a first for everything.

He would be lying if he said that her mood swings weren't driving him crazy, because they were. On more than one occasions she kicked him out the bed at night because he was taking up too much room on the bed and moving too much, disrupting her sleep. She never had issues before but with her hormones on a rampage, every little thing that didn't bother her before was now aggravating her and were the sources of her foul mood. It was like Jiraiya was her personal punching bag. She wouldn't physically hurt him, well she would if he did something to really annoy her, but she would demand the most unreasonable things from him. For instance, one day she wanted some rare expensive chocolate that came from the Hidden Cloud Village and she wouldn't stop pestering him to get it for her. Furthermore, she threatened to knock him out if he failed to get her the chocolate. Jiraiya had to venture out to that village and buy her the chocolate but they were out of stock and were expecting the man who produced it to deliver some the following week. Of course Jiraiya couldn't wait that long so he had to seek out the man who lived all the way up in the mountains to buy the chocolate from him. Since it was a delicacy it was quite costly but he had to pay extra because the man was not expecting any customers so he had to make it on the spot.

Jiraiya knew it wasn't her fault that she was moody. At one moment she's happy and the next she's ready to kill him out of anger. Pregnancy did that to her and he was the reason why she was pregnant so he just had to bear with her and do everything she asked of him. After all, she was carrying his child and despite the fact that it wasn't born yet, he loved it unconditionally. By pleasing Tsunade and keeping her safe, he was benefitting the baby and for that, he would gladly accept Tsunade's abuse and do everything for her.

"Can I have two servings of sweet dumplings?" Jiraiya asked the man behind the counter. Inside the shop smelt of sweet pastries and other delicacies. The aroma was so pleasant and Jiraiya wished that he could stay in there for the entire day but with a pregnant Hokage at home waiting on him to give her something to eat, it was impossible.

"Of course, right away." The man said and vanished into the kitchen to fulfill his order.

Jiraiya took a seat after he placed his order. This store made the pastries as soon as the customers ordered to ensure freshness so he was in for a small wait. He just sat there enjoying the aroma around him and closed his eyes for relaxation. It was so pleasant until he heard a familiar voice that was quite unusual and loud.

"Having a sweet tooth today Pervy Sage?" Naruto asked, standing over his master.

Jiraiya opened one eye to look at the blonde-haired boy. He sighed upon seeing him and opened his other eye to address the boy, "For your information kid, I'm only here because Tsunade asked me to get some sweet dumplings for her." He explained,_ "I was just starting to relax and this kid shows up. He's probably gonna ask me to train him. Can I never get a moment's peace these days?"_ He thought to himself.

Naruto took a seat beside his mentor, "Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't Granny Tsunade hate those?"

"She does but you know how pregnant people are, they get these weird cravings." Jiraiya sighed, "I just hope she doesn't crave those expensive chocolates again. When she did, it completely wiped out my wallet." He whined, remembering the struggles he went through just to get her those damn chocolates when he could have gotten cheaper ones right here in the Leaf Village.

"It seems like Granny is driving you up the wall with all her cravings." Naruto pointed out noticing the dark shadows under Jiraiya's eyes and the exhausted tone in his voice.

"It's not just the cravings, her mood swings are a real pain in the ass. Because of them I haven't had a good nights sleep in the past three days because she kicked me out the bed and sent me to the couch." He said and rubbed his sore back, "That couch is so damn lumpy! Remind me to replace that."

"So why is Granny doing that to you. That's so not fair."

"It technically isn't her fault. I mean, she's pregnant and pregnant people get mood swings. She can't really help it." Jiraiya said sympathetically and suddenly felt bad for her, "Who am I to be complaining when she's the one who has to carry the baby and then go through all that pain to push it out?"

"Well, all the problems your having are your fault then." Naruto simply replied.

"My fault?!" Jiraiya was expecting some sort of sympathy from the genin even though he knew that he didn't really deserve it, "How is it my fault?!"

"You're the one who knocked her up. Like you said, it's not her fault. So quit complaining." Naruto pointed out the obvious.

"You're dumplings are ready." The man said with a brown paper bad, filled with dumplings in his hand.

Jiraiya got up from his sitting position, "You're no help Naruto." He said before walking over to the counter to pay for his goods.

"I'm just telling the truth Pervy Sage." He smiled, "Tell Granny Tsunade I said hi." He said before walking out the store, "And good luck!"

"That kid is something else." Jiraiya took the bag from the man, "Thanks."

"No problem, come again soon." The man said while putting the money into the cash register, "And Congratulations on the baby by the way."

"Thanks." Jiraiya said and exited the shop. The villagers were genuinely happy about the baby and were waiting anxiously for it's arrival. That made Jiraiya happy, especially because he knew that if anything were to happen to him, his child would grow up in a village of people who genuinely loved it and had it's best interest at heart

He was walking on the usual path he took home when he spotted a gorgeous arrangement of flowers featured in the show case of the Yamanaka Flower Shop. Flowers were known for showing someone how much you appreciate them and made people feel happy upon receiving them. He decided to go buy a bouquet for Tsunade in hopes of showing her how much he loved her despite all that she has put him through over the last couple of days. He walked in the flower shop and was greeted immediately by Ino Yamanaka. She was apart of Naruto's year group and her parents owned the shop. She would work there when she was not on a mission.

"Hi Jiraiya sensei, can I help you with anything?" She greeted politely.

"I just want to buy a bouquet of flowers." He replied, eyeing all the flowers around the shop, trying to figure out which ones Tsunade would like but had no clue where to begin. It turns out that he was clueless when it came to flower arranging.

"For Lady Tsunade?" Ino asked happily, "Congratulations by the way."

"Thank you and yes it is for Tsunade. I just have no clue which ones she would like. I mean, they all look beautiful but I want it to be perfect. You see, she has been cranky lately with all her mood swings and I just want to give her something to make her happy." He explained.

"That's so sweet!" She cooed and went into professional mode soon after, "Okay well I would do a pink and purple flower arrangement but with light shades of those colors." She said and walked over to some flowers and started to pick certain ones out,"I'll use pink and purple carnations with some white narcissus in between. I'm sure Lady Tsunade will love it. What do you think Jiraiya sensei?"

Jiraiya looked at the collection of flowers in Ino's hand and imagined giving them to Tsunade, "I think it's perfect."

Ino smiled, satisfied with her flower arranging skills, "Great! I'll just put it together for you and then you can be on your way." She disappeared behind the counter to arrange the flowers into a beautiful bouquet. After a few moments she returned with the bouquet that had a silver a ribbon around it that tied the flowers together, "Here you go. That'll be three yen."

Jiraiya dug around in his pocket and came up with the money and handed it to Ino. She accepted it and handed the bouquet to him, "Thank you Jiraiya sensei. Be sure to tell Lady Tsunade hi for me okay."

"Okay, and thank you for the flowers."

"No problem and come again really soon."

Jiraiya walked out the store with the brown paper bag in his right hand and the flowers in his left. He was just hoping that Tsunade would be happy upon seeing the food and the flowers.

* * *

Tsunade was now behind her desk, assigning a mission to team Kurenai with Guy as their team captain since Kurenai was in her third trimester of pregnancy and was therefore unable to perform her ninja duties.

"Is everybody clear about the details of the mission?" She asked. It was a mission to track down an escaped prisoner. Since Hinata had her Byakugan, Kiba and Akamaru had their excellent sense of smell and Shino had his tracker bugs, they were perfect for the mission.

"Yes Mam!" They said in union.

"The power of youth will ensure that this mission is a success!" Guy said with his wide smile and gave her a thumbs up. Tsunade just glared at him, clearly not amused but rather annoyed at his enthusiasm.

"In that case, you're dismissed. Get going and don't take forever to complete this mission." She said in a monotone.

"Yes Lady Tsunade." They bowed respectfully and ran out of her office, almost knocking down Jiraiya.

"S-Sorry Master Jiraiya." Hinata said, looking back at the Sannin but still running alongside her teammates.

Jiraiya took a deep breath, grateful that he didn't drop the bouquet and the food, "Just sent them out on a mission?" He asked, stepping into the room and locking the door behind him.

"Yup." She replied simply, "Where's my food?"

Jiraiya held up the bag so that she could see that he didn't forget to bring the food, "Right here." He gave her the bag and she immediately started to take out it's contents and eat them rapidly.

"I also got you something else." Jiraiya informed her.

"I hope it's something to drink." She said while chewing her food, stretching her neck to see what he was hiding behind his back.

"No it's not that."

Tsunade stopped stretching her neck and became uninterested, "Then I don't care." She turned her attention back to her food and Jiraiya's heart sank a little but he still wanted to give her the flowers.

"This is what I wanted to give you." He pulled out the flowers from behind his back and revealed the gorgeous bouquet to her. He was expecting a positive reaction since the flowers were so beautiful but she just looked at them with confusion and un interest plastered on her face.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with that?" She asked.

Jiraiya felt disappointed at her reaction but still tried to make her happy, "I don't know. Put them in a vase and every time you look at them you can think about how much I love you."

Tsunade looked at the flowers for a second but quickly went back to her food, "I don't need those, they're just gonna take up space. You should get rid of them."

Jiraiya felt his heart break in two. After all the thought and love he put into getting her flowers, she told him that she didn't want them, that he should just throw them away. The disappointment was evident on his face but Tsunade didn't bother to look up to notice how much she hurt him just now. She just continued to eat her dumplings and didn't even say thank you. Jiraiya gripped the bouquet tightly in his hand and turned away from her. He was about to leave the office until Koharu burst in.

"Tsunade dear, it's time for your appointment at the hospital. Shizune is there and waiting to perform your ultrasound." She said. Usually one of Tsunade's assistants would report to her in regards of her appointment but Koharu wanted to be apart of every step in her pregnancy. Therefore, she was going to follow her to the appointment.

Tsunade wiped her mouth, riding it of the sauce present due to the dumplings and got out of her seat, "Okay let's go." She walked passed Jiraiya and followed Koharu out the office and turned back for a second when she noticed that he wasn't beside her, "Aren't you coming dummy?"

Jiraiya nodded and before joining them, dumped the bouquet in the garbage and trailed behind the two women.

* * *

Jiraiya, Tsunade and Koharu were walking over to the hospital so that they could find out the gender of the developing baby in Tsunade's womb. The walk was silent for the most part except when Koharu asked Tsunade if she was feeling okay and if she felt as if she could walk the distance to the hospital. This annoyed Tsunade to the max especially since she was in an irritable mood already. Usually, she would milk the opportunity to have Koharu get someone to give her a massage or even carry her to the hospital, but now, all she wanted to do was punch the old lady so hard that she would be sent flying into another dimension. She restrained herself though because when she's in a better mood, she would want Koharu to do stuff for her. Jiraiya was still hurt by Tsunade's reaction towards the flowers but he didn't lash out on her because he tried to tell himself over and over that she was just pregnant and moody, but it was hard. He just wanted to make her happy but ended up doing nothing to improve her mood. He decided to push those feelings of hurt away because he was going to find out the gender of his baby shortly and nothing in the world could rain on his parade at that moment.

They arrived at the hospital and encountered Kurenai when she walked out of the ultrasound room.

"Hello Lady Tsunade, Master Jiraiya, Lady Koharu." She smiled, "How far along are you now Lady Tsunade?" She said as she noticed Tsunade's slight baby bump.

"Thirteen weeks." Tsunade replied, "You look like you're ready to have your little one right now." She said upon noticing Kurenai's huge belly and cringed when realizing that her stomach would get that big in a matter of time.

"My due date is in four days." Kurenai said as she rubbed her belly gently, "So are you here to determine the gender of your baby?"

"That's right." Tsunade said, "What are you having?"

"I'm having a baby boy."

"That's great so if I'm having a boy our kids can play together." Tsunade smiled.

"That would be great! But if you have a girl then our kids can go out."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves now." Jiraiya chimed in. His child wasn't even born yet so he didn't even want to think about his potential little girl going out with a anybody.

Kurenai laughed, "I'm sorry Master Jiraiya." She said before remembering something that she wanted to ask, "Oh, since my due date is in a few days, I was wondering if you could be there Lady Tsunade."

Tsunade could understand why Kurenai wanted her there. She probably just wanted extra support since Asuma, the father of her child was no longer alive, "Of course, I'll wait outside and as soon as you deliver the baby I'll come in to see you."

"Actually, I was wondering if you could be in the delivery room." She started and Tsunade was lost for words, "Shizune will be delivering my baby but I would like to have you in there to be of any assistance if anything goes wrong. I know that Shizune is an excellent medical ninja but I would like to have you in there in case she needs any help. After all you are the best. Plus, as an expectant mother yourself, it would be good for you to see a woman give birth."

"Kurenai, I've delivered a baby before you know. I know what it's all about."

"Yes but, you weren't pregnant when you did so it didn't mean anything to you. But now that you are pregnant it will. Please Lady Tsunade, I want you to be there."

This was indeed an unusual request and Tsunade wasn't sure if she wanted to honor that request. Giving birth is a private affair and extremely personal so she didn't know why Kurenai wanted someone who wasn't delivering her baby and had no relation to her in the delivery room with her. But she could see the look on Kurenai's face that was silently begging her to be in there. Perhaps it would help prepare her for her own delivery so she decided to agree, "Okay Kurenai."

A wide smile arose on Kurenai's face and she gave Tsunade a big hug, "Thank you Lady Tsunade!"

"Okay." Tsunade replied, feeling slightly uncomfortable that Kurenai's stiff, huge stomach was pressing on her smaller one. Kurenai let go, said her goodbyes and left.

"I can't believe you're going to watch her give birth." Jiraiya whispered in her ear and she gently punched him in the gut.

"Shut up."

"Okay let's find out if you're having a boy or a girl." Koharu said happily as she pushed open the door and stepped in with the two Sannin following behind her.

Shizune was waiting for them when they arrived.

"Hi Shizune." Tsunade greeted upon seeing her apprentice, "I hope you had a good time." She winked as she settled herself on the examination chair.

Shizune blushed a little, "I did." She cleared her throat and began the procedure, "Okay Lady Tsunade, please lift your top up to reveal your stomach."

Tsunade undid her obi and opened her shirt to reveal her belly. Shizune squirted some ultrasound gel on the stomach. Tsunade moved a little since it was cold. Jiraiya moved to Tsunade's side and held her hand. Instead of pushing him away, she held his hand, happy that he was beside her. Shizune used the ultrasound wand to spread the gel all over her stomach. On the screen they saw black and white but came across a tiny white object that was curled in an almost peanut-shaped form. It looked like a tiny human. That was their baby.

"That's our baby." Tsunade said and held his hand tighter. She admired the tiny child and looked at it with pure love in her eyes. This was the first time she laid eyes on her child and she was loving every moment of it.

Jiraiya was amazed at the sight of his child. He couldn't believe that he was actually looking at his baby, "That really is our child."

Meanwhile, Koharu was in the corner of the room crying her eyes out because she was so happy, "The child of greatness!" She said between sobs. Everybody else just ignored her and glued their eyes on the screen.

"Do you want to know the gender?" Shizune asked while smiling, looking at the parents-to-be as they looked at their baby.

"I already know what it is." Tsunade replied. Being the medic she is, she determined the gender of the baby the moment she saw it.

"You do? What is it Tsunade? Is it a boy or a girl?" Jiraiya asked eagerly.

"Jiraiya, you have got to stop calling our daughter 'it'." Tsunade smiled.

Jiraiya looked at her lost for words and couldn't hide his wide smile, "We're having a girl?" He asked again, looking at Shizune.

Shizune giggled at his high pitch, "Yes, you're having a baby girl. Congratulations!" She said and hugged Jiraiya then bent down to hug her mentor.

Tsunade looked at Jiraiya with a smile on her face, a smile that he hasn't seen in a few days. He was so happy that he was having a little girl and he was happy that she was happy as well. He bent down and kissed her and she kissed him back. They were both so very happy.

"The child of greatness is a girl! This is a happy, happy day! We must inform the villagers at once!" Koharu said with tears of joy rolling down her cheeks.

They all looked at her with straight faces that clearly showed their annoyance. She exited the room in a rush to inform everybody that Tsunade was expecting a baby girl.

"I'm so happy for the both of you." Shizune smiled, "A baby girl is a blessing." Shizune handed a napkin to Tsunade, to remove the gel from her stomach.

Tsunade accepted the napkin and started to wipe off the gel, "Thanks Shizune." She then closed her shirt and put her obi back on.

"I have a few more patients to see so after that I will return to the mansion." Shizune said as she saw Tsunade and Jiraiya readying themselves to leave.

"I'll see you soon then." Tsunade said to her apprentice and turned to Jiraiya, "Let's go." He nodded and they left the room side by side.

* * *

They were walking home and all of a sudden Tsunade stopped walking. Jiraiya noticed that she was no longer beside him and turned back to see what was wrong, "Is everything alright Tsunade?" He asked as he walked towards her.

"No everything is not alright." She replied and looked up at him, "I've been treating you like crap for the past couple of days and you have just been taking it."

"That's just because of your mood swings. Don't worry about it." He said and started to walk again but realized that she wasn't joining him so stopped and turned back to face her.

"You didn't deserve any of that and I'm sorry." She walked the short distance over to him and hugged him, "And thank you for the beautiful flowers. I love them." She let go of him and cupped his cheek with her palm, "And I love you."

He felt his heart well up with happiness. He bent his head down so that he cold place a tender kiss on her lips, "I just wanted to make you happy, that's all."

She laughed a little and caressed his cheek, "You didn't have to buy me flowers to make me happy dummy. I know I've been cranky lately but that's just because of my hormones. You've given me a daughter and because of that, I will always be happy."

In that moment he realized that no material thing could make a woman happier than the gift of being a mother. That was the greatest gift that he could give her. They were going to be a family. The two of them and their baby girl.

* * *

**Okay, so I made the baby be a girl because I think that it would be awesome to see how Jiraiya (AKA the biggest pervert alive) would handle raising a little girl who would more than likely inherit her mother's looks and have to protect her from other perverts. **

**Thanks for reading and all the alerts! **


	13. Trouble in Paradise

Squad fourteen, consisting solely of chunin ranked ninjas was sent out on a mission just a few days ago. Their destination was the Land of Waves and they were almost near to the border when they were attacked. Two people wearing black cloaks patterned with red clouds approached them and were soon identified as the leader of the Akatsuki, Pain and his comrade, a woman with short blue hair who went by the name Konan. The three man squad shivered with fear and were not quite sure what to say or how to react in the face of two of the most powerful and terrifying Shinobi in the entire ninja world. Those two people could take their lives in a matter of seconds or cause them to fall apart out of complete fear.

"Look what we have here Konan, three ninjas from the Leaf Village." Pain said while locking his eyes on the three men standing before him, "I wonder if they have any information for us."

"What do you two want?!" The boldest out of the three asked with anger and a hint of fear evident in his tone.

"Tell us everything about the Leaf Village." Konan demanded, "And if you don't, we will force you to." She said in a serious tone that sent shivers running down the three ninjas' spines.

The same ninja who spoke up shook away his feelings of intimidation, "We will never betray our village like that! If you-"

A kunai was sent through his heart before he had a chance to finish his sentence. Now he was lying on a grassy floor in a pool of his own red, sticky blood. His teammates could do nothing but look on in horror. Even if they knew medical ninjutsu, they could not do anything to save him. That kunai perfectly pierced his heart and exited his body from his back.

"Kai!" Another teammate, Jugo shouted in horror and glared at his friend's murderer, "Why are you doing this?!"

"You would be smart to cooperate if you don't wish to end up like your friend." Konan replied simply.

"We will never cooperate with criminals like you! We are Leaf ninja and we will not help you to destroy our home and our comrades!" Jugo shouted and threw a smoke bomb on the ground to conceal their escape. Jugo managed to get away but as he was running, he looked behind him and saw Pain holding his other teammate, Kaito with a kunai dangerously close to his throat. He couldn't return for his friend because if he did, Pain would surely slit his throat and he would end up just like Kai. He took a deep, shaky breath and reluctantly made his way back to the Leaf Village to report the tragedy while silently praying that Pain would spare the life of his friend.

"Looks like your friend managed to escape." Pain said to the terrified man, "I'm not going to kill you but for exchange for your life, you will tell me everything that his happening in the Leaf Village. If not, consider yourself dead."

Kaito looked at his dead comrade on the floor and began to shake with fear. He didn't want to die but he didn't want to be a traitor to the Leaf Village. He knew that if Jugo was in his position, he would choose death over the betrayal of his village, but Kaito was not like Jugo, he was a coward so he chose his life over the village, "I'll cooperate." He said in a shaky tone.

"Good." Pain replied and knocked the chunin out so that he could take him to his secret quarters. He draped his motionless body over his shoulder and took him into captivity.

* * *

Tsunade and Shizune were walking through the streets of the village, on their way to one of their favorite restaraunts for lunch. Shizune has been busy with Genma and Tsunade has been swamped with piles upon piles of work coupled with annoying mood swings that would transform her from a busy Hokage to a seething demon. However, today Genma was off on a mission and Tsunade's work load wasn't as much since Koharu told all the other villages to back off a bit and give Tsunade some breathing space. Sometimes she would even do Tsunade's work for her and this only pleased Tsunade. She would miss it when Koharu stops treating her nicely when she is no longer pregnant. The two women decided to use this time to catch up and have a nice conversation about anything that came to mind.

It was a beautiful day in the village. The sun was shining brilliantly and all the village children were outside playing with each other. While they were walking to their destination, a small girl, around the age of six approached Tsunade. Upon seeing the little girl, Tsunade stooped down to her level and spoke kindly to the child, "Hello, what's your name?"

"My name is Miko, Lady Hokage." She smiled widely, revealing a large gap where her two front teeth should be.

"Miko!" A woman in her thirties said and took hold of Miko's small hand. She turned to Tsunade, "I'm so sorry Lady Tsunade. I promise you that she won't bother you again." She looked down at her child, "Miko, Lady Hokage is very busy, please tell her that you're sorry for bothering her."

Tsunade shook her head, "No, that's quite fine." She told Miko's mother and turned her attention back to the child, "Was there something that you wanted to ask me or talk to me about?"

"Mommy told me that you have a baby inside your belly and I was wondering if I could touch it."

"Of course you can." Tsunade smiled and patted the girl's head.

Miko reached down to Tsunade's buldging stomach and placed her small hand on it and felt a slight thump. Her eyes grew wide with fascination and looked at Tsunade, "What was that?"

Tsunade giggled a bit at Miko's surprise, "That was just the baby kicking."

"Kicking? Doesn't that hurt?"

Tsunade shook her head, "No, not really. It feels kinda weird but that's it."

Miko patted Tsunade's stomach gently and said, "You shouldn't kick your mommy baby."

"We should get going Miko, it's time for lunch." Her mother interrupted, "Say thank you to Lady Hokage and let's go, okay."

"Thank you Lady Hokage." She said and Tsunade hugged her.

"You're welcome Miko." She said and rose to her feet.

"Bye!" Mother and daughter said before walking away.

Shizune looked at Tsunade and smiled, "That was nice of you."

"I'm going to need all the practice I can get you know."

"You're going to be a great mom Lady Tsunade."

Tsunade shrugged and started to walk again, "Come on Shizune, we don't want to lose our reservations."

Shizune nodded and walked up beside her master as they journeyed to their destination.

* * *

Kaito's eyes fluttered open only to see himself surrounded by complete darkness. At first he felt disoriented and not sure where he was, how he got there and who he was with. Everything was a blur and that was frustrating. Then as his tired, droopy eyes adjusted to his dark surroundings, he remembered everything. His team was attacked by two members of the Akatsuki; Pain and Konan. He was kidnapped by them and was probably going to be tortured in some way or mutilated in order for them to squeeze information out of him about the village. However, he decided to cooperate and hand over whatever information they wanted just for the chance to have his life spared. After he gave up the information, he knew that he would have to flee the village because he would surely become an outcast and be labelled as the Leaf's number one traitor. If he survived this and returned to the village, he could not imagine the punishment and the hardships that he would have to endure and he was not sure if he wanted to know the extent to which he would have to suffer. He was in a bad position. If he refused to give up information, he would die and if he did, he would not be able to return to his home. His life dramatically changed from being happy to being a complete disaster.

"He's awake." Konan said as she heard Kaito's movements. He was bound from the neck down with a thick, uncomfortable rope and he was gagged.

A candle was lit immediately and Kaito could now see the rocky walls that surrounded him as well as the pointed, thin stalactites hanging from the roof and he came to the conclusion that he was in a cave. Inside smelt musty and ancient. Perhaps this particular cave was so well hidden that nobody except for the Akatsuki members knew about it, "_So this is the hideout of the Akatsuki._" He thought to himself. If he could, he would tell everybody in the village about their secret hideaway but he knew that would never happen.

Pain approached the chunin and stood before him then removed his ran down Kaito's spine and throughout his entire body and he thought that this was it for him, that he was going to die until he heard Pain's deep voice, "You're going to tell me everything about the Leaf Village right now and if not, consider yourself dead. Do you understand?"

Kaito nodded in agreement.

"Good." Pain said and took a seat in front of Kaito, "Go ahead."

Kaito took a shaky breath and began, "I'm just a chunin so I don't know much about the politics of the village but I do know that Lady Tsunade, the Hokage is in talks with the village elders in regards to Naruto Uzumaki, the nine tails jinchuriki and how to keep him safe. I think she's planning on keeping him busy on missions." He said and paused, thinking about anything else that may be relevant, "Oh, and Master Jiraiya is alive."

"What?! I was sure I killed him. How is he even alive?!" Pain said shocked to hear that his former sensei was alive. The worst part about that is that Jiraiya has information about the secret of Pain.

"Nobody knows how except for Master Jiraiya himself. Not even Lady Hokage knows but he is very much alive. In fact, he's now expecting a child with the Hokage." Kaito informed him.

"The Hokage is pregnant with Jiraiya's child?" Pain repeated to ensure that this information was indeed true.

Kaito nodded again, curious as to why this information interested him so much.

"How far along is she?"

"A little over three months." Kaito responded and watched as Pain and Konan exchanged looks of victory with each other and he suddenly understood why Pain was interested in the fact that Tsunade and Jiraiya were expecting a baby. Guilt overcame him and he started to plead with Pain to spare the life of the child, "Please don't harm the baby! Whatever you're planning, please leave the baby out of it!" He begged. If anything bad happened to the child, it would be all his fault and he wasn't quite sure if he could live with that guilt.

"You've given us enough information. We have no further use of you." Pain said just before Konan walked up behind the chunin with a kunai in her hand and effortlessly killed him by slitting his throat open. Kaito's lifeless body fell to the ground and proceeded to bleed out. They had to kill him in order to prevent him from running back to the Leaf Village to inform them about all that has happened. Kaito Hiroshima died as a traitor to the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

"What are you planning on doing Nagato?" Konan asked while ridding her kunai of blood by wiping it in the clothing of the now deceased ninja.

"We will kidnap Jiraiya sensei's child when it is born and hold it at ransom for the nine tails jinchuriki. Tsunade, as the mother of the child will not be thinking as the Hokage of the Leaf when her child is in danger so she will make the decision to hand over the Uzumaki boy in order to save her own child and Jiraiya sensei will want to do the same. There is no way that those two would want us to do anything harmful to their new born child. Finally we will have the nine tails in our possession. Inform Tobi right away."

"Right." Konan said before multiplying into millions of pieces of paper and fluttered away to inform Tobi about their brilliant yet heartless plan.

"Except I will not return your child Jiraiya sensei. I will get rid of it so that you can understand the true meaning of pain." He said maniacally and blew out the lit candle, plunging him in darkness.

* * *

"Since when do you like sweet dumplings?" Shizune asked while looking at her mentor scarf down three sticks of sweet dumplings in a matter of seconds. As far as she knew, Tsunade hated them and they repulsed her.

"Since I got knocked up." She said before swallowing the last dumpling, "I've been having these cravings for them and I have to say, they're pretty good." She reached over and retrieved a stick from Shizune's plate.

"Hey!" Shizune squealed upon seeing a manicured hand grab her stick of dumplings, "Lady Tsunade, that's mine!"

"Shizune, you're supposed to give a pregnant person whatever she wants!" Tsunade scolded and ate the dumplings, "So quit complaining and order some more because the baby is hungry."

Realizing that she could not win, Shizune gestured for the waitress to come and serve them by waving her hand. The young waitress came over almost immediately, "Do you two need anything else?"

"Yes please. Can we get two more orders of sweet dumplings?" Shizune moved closer to the waitress and placed her hand over her mouth to conceal her words and whispered, "Because she ate all of mine."

The waitress nodded her head and wrote down the order, "No problem, I'll get those for you right away." She smiled sweetly and went to place the order.

"You can have the rest of mine." Shizune moved her plate closer to Tsunade, "It seems like you're not going to stop eating for now."

"Not my fault." Tsunade said and pointed to her stomach. She ate the rest of dumplings on Shizune's plate and looked up to see her apprentice looking quite pensive, "Is everything okay Shizune?"

Shizune looked at her mentor and nodded, "Yes I'm fine." She rested her head on her hand and continued, "I'm just thinking."

"About what?" She asked and Shizune blushed furiously, "Come on, you can tell me."

"It's nothing, really." Shizune responded, trying to avoid the conversation.

"You're thinking about Genma aren't you." Tsunade smiled slyly which only caused Shizune to blush more.

"H-How did you know?"

"The only time you blush like that is when you're thinking about Genma." Tsunade took a sip of her tea, "So what's up between you two? I hope he's treating you good because if he's not, he can consider himself fired. Then I'll beat him to a pulp."

"There's no need to do that because he is treating me good. Very good actually. I'm very lucky. I was just thinking about how our relationship is moving forward and how scary it all seems."

"If your relationship is moving forward then that's a good thing. Why are you scared?"

"Well, I don't have much experience with this dating thing so I have never really gotten to this point before. I don't know what to do, can you tell me what to do?" Shizune has not had much experience with men but Tsunade had more experience than her so she asked her for advice.

"If you aren't comfortable with moving forward then talk to Genma and if he can't appreciate that and accept it then he's not worth having. But if he is, then you have a good man on your hands. Do whatever feels right to you and you'll be okay."

"Thanks Lady Tsunade." She smiled but then her mind wandered on something that Tsunade said earlier, "Would you actually fire and hurt him over me?"

"Of course! I'll do it in a heart beat." Tsunade stated without a speck of dishonesty in her voice.

"But why?"

"I didn't raise you for some ass hole to treat you like crap. That's why if Genma tries anything, I will personally ruin his life, because if he treats you like crap, he's treating me like crap."

Shizune smiled a bit after hearing Tsunade's explanation. The fact is that Tsunade did raise her and she didn't have to, but she did. At first it was because Shizune was the last piece of Dan left, but soon, Tsunade started to see Shizune as more than just Dan's relative. She saw her as a lonely child without a family so she became the family that Shizune needed. That's why Tsunade would pulverize anybody who dared to treat Shizune badly.

"Where the hell are my dumplings?!" Tsunade shouted as her belly grumbled, begging for food.

As if on cue, the waitress came over to their table with two plates of sweet dumplings on her tray. She laid them carefully before the two women and bowed respectfully, "I'm sorry for the wait."

"That's okay." Shizune assured the girl, "Thank you."

The waitress nodded and left to serve another table. Tsunade immediately started to devour her food and Shizune looked on while eating her food faster than before to prevent Tsunade from stealing it again. Suddenly a member of the ANBU black ops appeared before the two women. It was quite unusual to see ANBU in a restaurant so something had to be wrong. He was panting heavily so he must have been running around the village trying to find Tsunade.

Tsunade diverted her attention from the dumplings to the masked man before her. She recognized him to be Boa. That was his code name. Every member of the ANBU had one in order to conceal their identity, "Boa, what's wrong?" Tsunade asked. She knew immediately that something was wrong from just seeing him there.

"A member from the chunin team you discharged a few days ago just reported that his team was attacked by two members of the Akatsuki identified to be the leader Pain and his comrade Konan." He stated without a hint of shakiness in his voice due to all his running. He was trained well. Not even in the gravest of situations must a member of the ANBU show any fear or uncertainty.

"WHAT?!" Tsunade shouted and slammed her fists on the table while standing up.

Shizune stood up as well and turned to Tsunade, "Those two are the ones who almost killed Master Jiraiya."

"Tell me everything Boa!" She shouted once again which only caused the entire population of the restaurant to turn from their meals to look at her. This was not an appropriate place to discuss such a serious matter.

"Perhaps we should take this outside." Boa suggested when he realized that everybody was looking at them.

Tsunade dug deep into her pocket to retrieve her wallet and slammed a couple of dollars on the table to cover their bill as well as a tip for their waitress, "Let's go." She said as she proceeded to walk out the establishment and Shizune and Boa followed behind her. The Hokage's office was too far away and since the situation was urgent, it would not be wise to wait to hear the rest of the news so they ended up in the back alley of the restaurant where it was quiet and secluded.

After looking around to ensure that nobody was there, Tsunade turned to Boa and said, "Okay, tell me everything."

He nodded and proceeded to do as he was told, "The ninja who informed me is a chunin named Jugo Yamagata. According to him, the Akatsuki members killed his teammate Kai Sato and held his other teammate Kaito Hiroshima hostage."

"They took him hostage? Why didn't they just kill him right then and there?" Shizune asked feeling quite puzzled.

"Jugo also told me that Pain was asking them for information about the village. It seems as if he only took Kaito in order to squeeze information out of him. Whichever way you look at it, we will be in a grave situation if Pain manages to get Kaito to spill everything about us, including what we are planning to do with Naruto and perhaps even about your pregnancy."

Tsunade's heart sank upon hearing that Kaito could have told Pain that she was pregnant with Jiraiya's child. If he did, Pain would surely devise a plan to use that information to his advantage and that could result in her child being in danger, "Put together a team of ANBU black ops immediately, go to the location where the squad was attacked by Pain and locate Kaito Hiroshima!" Tsunade ordered.

"Right!" Boa nodded and disappeared in a flash to follow his orders.

"Shizune." Tsunade started and her apprentice looked at her, "It looks like we have to cut our lunch date short because now we have to work our asses off." Tsunade said, trying not to sound worried but Shizune knew better. She knew that Tsunade was worrying about the safety of the village, Naruto and the baby.

"Everything will be okay Lady Tsunade." Shizune assured her master.

Tsunade knew that Shizune realized that she was worried but there was no guarantee that all would be well. After all, they are dealing with the Akatsuki, "Let's just go."

The younger woman nodded and followed behind her master to go back to the mansion.

* * *

Jiraiya entered Tsunade's office and as usual, she was at her desk with Shizune by her side. They were both working so hard which seemed weird to him since today the workload was almost non-existent. He was out in the field training Naruto when a carrier bird landed upon his shoulder with a message from Tsunade, telling him to go to her office immediately. Right away he knew something was wrong but he was hoping that it wasn't anything too serious.

"You sent for me?" He asked Tsunade but he didn't receive an answer. She didn't even look up from the documents before her so he tried again. He walked closer to her and bent down before her desk so that his face would be directly in front of her face, "Did you send for me Tsunade?" He asked again but louder than before.

She looked up annoyed and almost jumped when she saw Jiraiya's face before her eyes. Her eyes narrowed in annoyance, "At the bottom of the letter I signed my name so you know damn well that I was the one who sent for you. So quit asking stupid questions and sit your ass down." She turned to Shizune, "Can you run down to the ANBU headquarters to find out if any new information came in?"

Shizune looked up from her work and nodded, "Yes Mam."

Jiraiya dragged a seat over to the desk and caused a lot of noise while doing so. Tsunade cringed at the annoying screeches of the chair being dragged and shouted, "Would it kill you to lift the chair?!"

Noticing the look on Tsunade's face, Jiraiya laughed nervously and lifted the chair over to the desk and placed it beside her and took a seat, "Sorry." He said and she looked away and went back to her work. Then he remembered hearing Tsunade tell Shizune to run down to the ANBU headquarters. The ANBU were only used in serious situations so he was confused as to why Shizune was sent to them. As far as he knew, nothing serious was happening at the moment, "Tsunade, why did you send Shizune over to the ANBU headquarters?"

She took a deep breath, put down her pen and turned her chair so that she was directly facing the white haired Sannin, "Because I need to find out if any new information was reported."

He looked at her slightly confused, "What's going on?"

"Apparently the chunin team I sent out a couple of days ago was attacked by Pain and Konan. They were asking for information about the village. One member was killed and another, Kaito Hiroshima was taken hostage. The other member managed to escape and informed the ANBU member Boa about everything and Boa reported back to me. So I sent out a team consisting solely of ANBU black ops to the scene to try to locate Kaito and if they're lucky, Pain and Konan." Tsunade explained and Jiraiya absorbed everything he was being told like a sponge.

"Do you think Kaito will tell Pain about the village?" He asked, hoping that she would say no.

"According to his files, he values his life." She said as she retrieved the papers from her desk and handed them over to Jiraiya, "If Pain threatened his life then I'm sure that Kaito would do whatever Pain tells him to do. I'm certain that Pain threatened to kill him because the surviving ninja reported that he was threatening them so more than likely Kaito will or did tell Pain everything." She said while rubbing her temples, "What worries me is that Kaito probably told him about our plans for Naruto and perhaps he even told him about my pregnancy."

Jiraiya's eyes became wide with fear after what Tsunade told him but tried to suppress his worry for her sake, "You don't think that Pain will try to-"

"That's exactly what I think he will do." Tsunade said, "If anything happens to Naruto or this baby I don't know what I would do." She said quietly and her hand absently floated over her belly and caressed it gently. She was so worried, but as the Hokage she had to be strong. However, in the presence of Jiraiya alone, she didn't have to be.

Jiraiya grabbed her gently and enveloped her in a warm hug. While embracing he whispered in her ear, "As long as I'm around, nothing will happen to Naruto or our baby." They broke apart and Jiraiya looked deep into her eyes, "I promise."

Tsunade shook her head, "You can't promise such a thing. Pain is strong."

"I know that." He admitted then recalled the grueling battle that he had with him that resulted in his demise, "But remember, I know his secret."

"Okay, you know his secret. But that doesn't mean that he can't still kill you." Tsunade said pessimistically.

Jiraiya shook his head, "Naruto knows his secret as well and he wants his revenge. When and if the time comes, Naruto will be fighting alongside me and this time..." Jiraiya trailed off to place his hand on Tsunade's stomach, "I have a little one who needs me so I won't lose."

Tsunade smiled and even though she knew that the outcome of the possible battle was not certain, she decided to put her trust in Jiraiya, "Okay."

Suddenly, Jiraiya felt a thump coming from Tsunade's belly and he immediately moved his hand, jumped to his feet and pointed at her stomach, "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!"

Tsunade rose to her feet and smacked him in the head, "YOU DAMN IDIOT, THAT'S JUST THE BABY KICKING!"

"The baby kicking?" He said softly, "She never did that before."

"Honestly Jiraiya, as a grown man you should know that babies kick in the womb." Tsunade said lost for words at how stupid he was.

"Does it hurt?" He asked, wondering if their baby inherited Tsunade's strength.

"Not really." Tsunade said while returning to her previous position. She took her pen up once again and started to work.

Shizune entered the room panting and Tsunade looked up at her, "Did you receive any new information?"

Shizune shook her head, "Nothing new has come in yet but something else happened."

"What?"

"Kurenai Yuhi went into labor." Shizune informed Tsunade, "We have to go now since I'm the one delivering the baby and she wants you to be in the room."

Tsunade reluctantly got out of her chair and started to whine, "But I don't want to be in the room! Just tell her that I'm sick."

Shizune shook her head, "You promised you would be there so let's go!"

Tsunade grumbled, "Fine." She looked at Jiraiya who was starting to sneak out the room through the window and she grabbed his arm to stop him, "Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"I'm a guy, I can't be in the room with her!"

"You can wait outside. If I have to suffer so do you!"

"This is so unfair!" He protested, wondering how he became included in this.

* * *

**Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it.**

**Please leave a review to tell me what you think.**

**Thanks again! **


	14. Baby Sarutobi

Tsunade unwillingly walked through the green door that would lead her into Kurenai's hospital room where she would have her baby. She saw the mother-to-be lying on the small hospital bed and looked as if she was in a great deal of pain. She was sweating profusely so a nurse was dabbing her brow with a sponge to get rid of the beads of sweat as well as to provide her with some kind of comfort. Shizune immediately checked how far along into her labor she was and discovered that she was only dilated five centimeters. She was in for a long wait since she had to be dilated ten centimeters before she could start pushing. This would give Tsunade plenty of time to try to become comfortable with the idea of her being in somebody who was not her patient nor her relative's delivery room. Regardless of her discomfort, she knew how much it meant to Kurenai to have extra support there with her since Asuma was no longer alive. Shikamaru was of course waiting patiently in the waiting area since Asuma asked him to help Kurenai out with the baby and when the time came, to teach him the way of the ninja. Hinata, Shino and Kiba were also in attendance to support their sensei as she embarks on this new phase of her life. Kurenai was feeling anxious as well as terrified. She wasn't sure if she could raise a child without Asuma but she knew that he wouldn't want her to second guess herself as a mother, so she tried to push away all her insecurities and focus on having the baby, but it proved to be difficult. Raising a child is a challenge as well as expensive but raising a child as a single parent is even worse. Nobody could blame her for being worried. After all, she never thought that Asuma would die and leave her alone with this baby.

Before her contractions became too intense, her students as well as Shikamaru were allowed to enter the room to visit her and offer their words of encouragement. They all knew that this was a special yet terrifying time for their sensei since she was now going to be a single parent. When they came in, Kurenai's eyes lit up with joy and she was genuinely happy to see them. Because of her pregnancy, she wasn't able to train them or go off on missions with them, so the small amount of time that she was able to spend with them was special to her.

Hinata was the first to approach Kurenai with a lovely bouquet of flowers in her hand, "I got these for you Kurenai sensei." She said in her usual soft tone.

Kurenai looked at the flowers in her student's hand. It was a lovely arrangement of blue and white flowers, "Those are beautiful Hinata, thank you." She smiled, "Just put them on my side table please."

Hinata did as she was told and turned back to her sensei, "How are you feeling?"

"I was in a lot of pain just a while ago but not right now. I guess I'm just nervous."

Hinata sympathized with her sensei so she placed her soft, caring hand on Kurenai's shoulder to show her that she was there for her, "I'll help you with the baby. Anytime you need me to babysit, I'll be there for you."

A soft smile emerged on Kurenai's face. She wrapped her arms around her only female student and said, "Thank you Hinata, that's very sweet of you."

Hinata nodded after Kurenai let go of her and made room for Shino and Kiba to talk to their sensei.

"You're gonna be a great mom Kurenai sensei!" Kiba said encouragingly.

"And like Hinata said, we'll be there to babysit anytime you need us to." Shino added.

Kurenai gave both of them a hug and then Shikamaru approached her, "I promised Asuma that I would take care of your child and become his sensei." He started, "I have every intention on still doing that." He took hold of Kurenai's hand, "You will never be alone in this because Asuma is still with you. Even now, he's in this very room, right beside you. Believe me when I say that he will never let any harm come to you or his child and neither will I."

Kurenai smiled softly and gave his hand a soft squeeze, "I know." She turned her head to look at all her students and said, "Thank you all for coming."

"No problem! And we're not going anywhere until the kid is born." Kiba smiled.

Kurenai was lucky to have such wonderful, supportive students. She was grateful for their kind words because in that very moment when she was doubting herself, she needed them. Now she knew for sure that she would not be alone and that she would be okay and so would her baby.

"I don't mean to kick you all out but I'm going to ask you all to wait outside again." Shizune said.

They did as they were told and left the room.

It wasn't too long after that until the screaming started. Kurenai's contractions were becoming worse and worse by the minute. This meant that she was moving along quickly but it resulted it excruciating waves of pain. "AHHHHH!" She screamed as she clutched the sides of the bed tightly as if that action could ease her pain.

"Do you want an epidural?" Shizune asked, noticing how much pain Kurenai was in.

She violently shook her head, "No, I want to do this naturally." She panted and braced for another jolt of pain, "OW THIS HURTS!"

Tsunade watched, lost for words. She knew that this was the result of labour but for some reason, she felt uneasy, especially when she heard Kurenai's screams. Being a medic of her stature, she has delivered a child before but the entire process of labor had no affect on her and held no amount of significance to her, until now. She, herself was pregnant and in a few months, she would be the one lying in that rather uncomfortable bed, shouting on top of her voice due to the extreme amount of pain that she would inevitably experience. All of a sudden, she felt droplets of sweat emerge on her brow and felt a chill shiver down her spine. She grabbed the end of her jacket and made her way over to Shizune, "Why don't you just slip her the epidural without her knowing?" She suggested with her hand covering her mouth to conceal her words from the screaming woman.

"How do you expect me to give her an injection in her back without her knowing Lady Tsunade?" Shizune asked sarcastically.

"Tell her it's just nutrients for the baby. She's not a medical ninja so she wouldn't suspect a damn thing."

Shizune shook her head, "Lady Tsunade, why do you want me to give her an epidural when she clearly doesn't want one?" She asked, confused at her master's suggestion.

"Because she's freaking me the hell out with all her damn screaming!" She said a little louder than she should have. As a result, Kurenai heard. Noticing this Tsunade laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her head, "I didn't mean you Kurenai, I just... Ummmm... Never mind."

Kurenai was about to say something when pain ripped through her body once again but this one was worse that the others. It hurt so had that she felt as of she couldn't handle it anymore and just wanted to give birth so that her pain could cease, "How far along am I know Shizune?" She asked, practically begging her to tell her that she could push now.

Shizune snapped her gloves on and checked once again to come up with an answer. After, she took off her gloves and shook her head regretfully, "You're not ready yet. You're dilated 6 centimeters now, so give it some more time."

Kurenai squirmed uncomfortably in her bed, clearly disappointed and screamed in pain once again, "AHHHHHHH!" She held her stomach and shouted, "GET OUT OF ME!"

"JUST GET OUT OF HER!" Tsunade shouted which earned her looks of shock and confusion from the occupants of the room. She noticed this and laughed nervously again, "Ummm... Excuse me for a moment." She said and excused herself out the room. She burst through the door and marched straight up to Jiraiya and grabbed him by the neckline of his shirt, "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!" She shouted while pointing to her stomach.

"What?!" He asked, completely confused by her sudden, uncalled for outburst.

Kiba, Shikamaru, Shino and Hinata looked at the two Sannin. Kiba was concealing his laugh by covering his mouth, Hinata blushed furiously while trying not to make eye contact, while the rest just looked confused. Jiraiya saw the four chunin looking at them, "Will you guys excuse me for a moment, it seems as if our lovely Hokage here has something she would like to discuss with me." He said in a happy tone, pretending as if everything was alright. He took her hand and lead her out of the waiting area and into an unoccupied room. He shut the door behind him and turned to the fuming Hokage, "What the hell was that?"

"I think I'm going insane!" Tsunade admitted and began to pace the room.

"What do you mean? Tsunade is everything alright?" He asked feeling quite confused as well as concerned.

"No! In fact, everything is the complete opposite of alright! Kurenai is in there screaming her head off because she's in so much pain and then after the kid is born, she's gonna have to take it home and raise it alone. And in a couple of months I'm going to be in the same position except, I also have a village to run. How the hell am I supposed to juggle being a mom as well as being the Hokage?" She said in a rushed manner. Seeing Kurenai in labour, brought up all her insecurities and now she was panicking, "And right now I have the Akatsuki to worry about. This is all just too much and..." She stopped pacing and her eyes narrowed on Jiraiya who was just standing there listening to her rant, "It's all your fault!"

"My fault?!" He shouted, "The last time I checked, it takes two people to make a baby so don't blame all of this on me. You could have stopped me and told me to use protection but you didn't and you didn't use protection either so you're just as much to blame as me."

"I shouldn't have to tell you to put a damn condom on!"

"But you-" he started but stopped himself when he realized that they were arguing about something that was a supposed to be a joy in their lives. They both wanted to be parents and the stress of Kurenai being in labor was taking a toll on the both of them. They haven't really discussed nor thought about what would happen when the baby comes because so much has happened since they found out that neither of them stopped to give their situation some deep thought, "We both want this baby Tsunade."

Suddenly, she felt stupid and horrible for blaming her pregnancy on Jiraiya. She loved the baby already and she would not change her situation for anything in the world, "I know." She walked over to him and hugged him, "I'm sorry." She whispered.

They pulled apart and he shook his head, "It's okay. I know you're just stressed out because you're witnessing a woman go through labor while you're pregnant." He said. He was so understanding about the situation which only made Tsunade feel worse about lashing out at him.

"Seriously though, we need to discuss our situation." She said seriously.

"We will. After all of this, I promise you that we'll go home and have a long talk about everything." He assured her.

"That is if I make it through the rest of the day." She grumbled, "I wish I didn't have to go back in there."

"You're going to be okay."

"Easy for you to say, you're not the one who has to be looking straight into Kurenai's promise land or hear her screams."

Jiraiya started to blush but decided to keep his thoughts to himself to prevent Tsunade from beating him to a bloody pulp.

Suddenly the door swung open and Kurenai's nurse came in. She looked straight at Tsunade and said, "There you are Lady Tsunade." She walked in and grabbed her hand, "Shizune warned me that you would run off." She started to walk out the room and dragged Tsunade along with her, "Kurenai is ready to push now."

Tsunade let out a long sigh and muttered a few expletives under her breath.

Jiraiya held in his laugh but said, "Good luck!" As he realized how unwilling Tsunade was to return to the room. He just hoped that she wouldn't faint or go completely insane. He exited the room and went back to the waiting area to await the birth of the baby.

* * *

"Lady Tsunade, where have you been?" Shizune asked as she saw her mentor enter the room, "Kurenai is just about ready to have this baby."

Tsunade grabbed her apprentice's hand and dragged her to the corner of the room away from Kurenai and the nurse, "I had to get out of here. I didn't want to go completely crazy in front of Kurenai."

"Why would you go crazy?" She asked in a low tone.

"Because I just realized that I'm completely unprepared to have this baby. But I spoke to Jiraiya and we're going to discuss everything when we go home."

"That's great." She said and then Kurenai's scream interrupted their conversation, "It's time for her to have her baby." She stated and went over to Kurenai's aid, "Okay Kurenai, you're going to push as hard as you can."

She nodded and proceeded to push with all her strength. It took a few minutes of pure agony but that agony turned into happiness when the shrill cries of the new born baby was heard as he entered the world for the first time.

"Oh my God, that's my baby." Kurenai said on the verge of tears when she laid eyes on her son for the first time. The baby was handed over to the nurse by Shizune to be cleaned up. After that, he was given to his mother. Kurenai couldn't stop the tears from falling down her cheeks when she held her baby boy for the first time, "You're perfect." She whispered as she gently cuddled her child. He looked exactly like Asuma with the exception of his curly black hair rather than Asuma's spiky hair.

"What are you going to name him?" Shizune asked, ready to write down his name for her records.

"Akito Hiruzen Sarutobi. Asuma loved the name Akito and I'm using Hiruzen as his middle name to honor his grandfather and our third Hokage." She said while never taking her eyes off the bundle of joy in her arms.

Shizune wrote down the name of the baby and left with the nurse to document it. Tsunade was left in the room with Kurenai and the newest addition to the Leaf Village. She was lost for words at how miraculous and precious the entire process of giving birth was. It transformed from a screaming mess to a wonderful moment when mother first meets child. She could imagine herself seeing her child for the first time and pictured how she would look in her mind. In the end, her witnessing Kurenai give birth helped her because now she was confident and excited about the time when she would be able to have her own baby. She walked over to the new mother, "Congratulations Kurenai, you're baby is adorable."

"Thank you Lady Tsunade." She smiled, "You're baby will be adorable too. And trust me, when you see her for the first time, it will be the best moment in your life."

"I know it will be." Tsunade agreed that the moment she lays eyes on her baby will be the happiest moment in her life, "And thank you for wanting me to be apart of this. It had a huge impact on me and it was a real eye opener."

"You're welcome."

Tsunade smiled sweetly and stroked the baby's curly hair, "He's going to be a fine Shinobi, just like his father and grandfather." She then left the room to give Kurenai some space to enjoy her time with her baby before she became flooded with visitors.

"Did she have the baby?" Jiraiya asked as he saw Tsunade emerge from the hospital room.

Tsunade nodded her head, "Yes, she jus had a perfectly healthy baby boy."

Smiled graced the faces of all who was in the waiting room, "Can we go see her?" Hinata asked feeling quite anxious to see the new born.

"Sure, go on in, I'm sure she'll be happy to see you all again."

Almost immediately after Tsunade said that, they all went to see their sensei and her baby. But Jiraiya stayed behind.

"Do you want to talk now?" He asked.

Tsunade took a seat beside him and held his hand, "Yes." She started, "I am the Hokage and that is a huge responsibility. Being a mother is also a big responsibility since I'll be responsible for raising our daughter and ensuring that she's okay. My concerns are if I'm busy at work and won't have enough time to spend with her and what if you go on a mission and she needs something but I can't help her because of work? I just need to know how we'll handle all of these situations."

"Look Tsunade, if you're busy and I'm not on a mission I'll be here for our daughter but if I'm on a mission Shizune will help us, she said so herself. But Tsunade, even if you are busy, you can make time for her and I know you will because you love her so much."

"But what if I make a bad parenting decision and ruin her life? What if she hates me for that?" She asked clearly uncertain of her patenting skills.

"You're gonna be a first time mom, it's normal for you to be concerned about things like that and I am too but, babies don't come with a manual. We just have to do the best we can."

When she thought about it, everything Jiraiya was saying was the truth. There was no such thing as the perfect parent and she knew that she would meet up with some obstacles but she was certain that she would have Jiraiya by her side, every step of the way.

"Okay." She said and gave him a quick hug when she remembered all the unfinished work on her desk, "I have to go back to work."

"Have fun." He said sarcastically to get on her nerves.

"Say that one more time and I'll throw you through the window." She threatened and walked off in the direction of her office.

* * *

**I haven't posted a new chapter in a while but that's because I had to study for my exams, bleh. Fortunately, my exams are over now so I can focus more on my fanfictions.**

**Spoiler: Finally Kishimoto remembered that Tsunade is split in half. Let's just hope that Orochimaru saves her instead of doing something evil and uncalled for.**

**Thanks for reading and leave me a review to tell me what you think.**


	15. Prepare

"Lady Tsunade may I come in?" Shizune asked as she stood outside of her mentor's office. After what seemed like forever she still didn't get an answer, "Lady Tsunade?" She called again but this time while turning the handle of the door and carefully stepping into the office. She then saw Tsunade fast asleep on her desk, drooling on the paperwork she had in front of her, "Lady Tsunade!" She shouted in disbelief which caused Tsunade to spring up from her sleeping position.

"I'm awake!" Tsunade declared as she looked up at her apprentice.

Shizune stormed over to her and pointed at the drool stain on her cheek and the soggy paperwork on the desk, "You were sleeping on the job again!" She started but Tsunade just rolled her eyes and placed her fist on her chin as she listened to Shizune's lecture, "What if one of the elders walked in here instead of me? What would you have to say for yourself?"

"I couldn't care less, remember they like me now."

Shizune sighed in frustration, "It doesn't matter. You're the Hokage therefore you shouldn't be sleeping and drooling all over your paperwork."

"Whatever." She said, brushing the topic away and proceeded to change it entirely, "So what did you come in here for?"

Shizune shook her head, clearly defeated and began to reveal the real reason why she was in the Hokage's office, "One of the members of the ANBU team you sent out to locate Kaito Hiroshima is here with a report."

Tsunade now gave Shizune her full attention. She was just hoping for good news, "Please tell me he's going to tell me something that I want to hear."

"I'm sorry Lady Tsunade but this isn't something that you would want to hear at all." Shizune wanted the news to be good too but unfortunately that wasn't the case.

Tsunade sighed, dreading the information that she would soon receive, "Go on then, send him in.

Shizune nodded and opened the door to reveal ANBU member Daichi, "On behalf of my team I am here to report the results of the mission that we received." He said while stepping further into the room.

"Go ahead." Tsunade commanded, eager but nervous to hear what he had to say.

"Fortunately every member of the team returned to the village unharmed but when we got to the location where the chunin team was attacked we found something quite disturbing... Kaito Hiroshima was found dead where he was last seen. His throat was slit and from the condition of the body, it seems as if he was killed a few days before we got there and left to bleed out. There was no sight of the Akatsuki members who took him hostage."

Tsunade looked down for a moment, trying to allow the information to sink in, "Is that all you have to report?" She asked with her head still facing the ground.

"Yes Mam."

"Inform Kaito's family about his death. You may go now."

"Right."

Daichi left the room, leaving the two women alone.

Shizune looked at Tsunade and could tell that she was stressed out and unsure of what to do, "Lady Tsunade?"

Tsunade lifted her head and an anger overcame her. She clenched her hands into a fist and slammed them down on the desk, breaking it in the process, "Damn it!" She yelled in sheer frustration and resentment towards the Akatsuki, "Find Jiraiya and Naruto and tell them to get their asses in her at once!"

"Right away mam!" Shizune responded while walking quickly out the office in search of the ones who Tsunade wished to see.

* * *

Shizune didn't have to go too far to find the white haired Sannin. When she exited Tsunade's office, she simply walked over to the Hokage's residence and opened the bedroom door only to find Jiraiya wrapped in blankets and pillows, snoring loudly on the bed. She chuckled a bit at the sight but became serious when she remembered that she needed him to go to Tsunade's office as quickly as possible. The situation they were in was a dire one and no time should be wasted unnecessarily. She walked over to the bed and gently tickled the exposed sole of his left foot. In his sleep he began to laugh until he sprung up from his bed kicking his feet and laughing uncontrollably. Since he was now awake, Shizune stopped tickling him.

"What are you doing here Shizune?" He asked wiping away the tears that formed in his eyes due to his laughing.

"Lady Tsunade wishes to see you in her office right away."

"That's so sweet, she's dying to see my handsome face isn't she?" He said self righteously.

Shizune slapped her palm on her face, shocked at how full of himself the Sannin could be, "No." She stated and watched the smile disappear from his face, "She wants to talk to you about the Akatsuki."

"That's no fun at all." He whined while getting out of bed.

"Just get dressed and go to her before she kills you." She said slightly annoyed and walked towards the door, "I'm going to go find Naruto."

"Naruto? Why Naruto?"

"She wants to see him too."

"This must be serious then."

Shizune turned around to face him, "It is serious. I'm not sure what Lady Tsunade is going to do but perhaps whatever she's planning involves you and Naruto." She explained, "Just hurry, okay."

He nodded his head in agreement and she left. He quickly got ready wondering what terrible news he would receive because from the look on Shizune's face, he could tell that their troubles were just about to begin.

_"This doesn't look good."_

* * *

"How many bowls are you gonna eat Naruto?!" Sakura shouted after seeing Naruto ask for his seventh bowl of ramen. She decided to have lunch with her teammates and sensei at Ichiraku Ramen to catch up as well as to create tighter bonds among them.

"I'll eat as many bowls as I want Sakura, Ichiraku ramen is the best!" He said happily and received his new bowl. He began to eat it quickly as if he didn't have six bowls already.

"Oh brother." She muttered under her breath, "That can't be healthy Naruto."

"I don't care, it tastes so good!" He said with his mouth full of food.

"The fact that Sakura made the statement that excessive amounts of ramen can't be good for your health shows that she cares about you Naruto." Sai informed Naruto.

A pink tint rose to Sakura's cheeks and Naruto made use of the opportunity to annoy her, "Aw Sakura that's so sweet! I always knew that you had a thing for me but who can blame you? After all I am Naruto Uzumaki!" She smiled widely but the smile soon faded and transformed into a frown when she punched him.

"Don't ever say crap like that again Naruto!" She shouted while holding her fist up to his face, threatening to give him a direct punch to the face.

"It was just a joke Sakura." He giggled, "Lighten up."

"Lighten up? I'LL PUNCH YOU INTO NEXT WEEK IDIOT!" She shouted while she brought his face up to hers by grabbing him by his collar.

"Settle down Sakura!" Kakashi ordered and she immediately let go of her blonde teammate, "Every time we go out it always ends up in a fight between the two of you." He sighed feeling slightly annoyed, "Can we try to have a pleasant lunch for once? If only the two of you were more like Sai, he's so calm while Naruto, you're annoying as hell and an idiot on top of that and Sakura, you're moody and hot headed. So instead of sitting next to each other and causing me a never ending headache, Naruto, switch places with Sai."

"But Kakashi sensei..." He began to whine.

"No buts, just do what I told you to do. Okay?"

"Fine." He grumbled under his breath and switched seats with Sai so that he was sitting next to Kakashi and not Sakura.

"Good." Kakashi smiled seeing that the boy obeyed him, "Now I can eat in peace."

Just as he said that Shizune burst into the Ramen shop and grabbed Naruto by the collar of his shirt, "Sorry to interrupt your lunch but Naruto needs to come with me right away." She apologized and dragged him off his stool and towards the Hokage mansion.

"What was that all about?" Sai questioned his sensei.

"He probably got in trouble with Lady Tsunade again." Sakura answered for Kakashi.

"Why must you always assume the worst Sakura?" Kakashi asked her feeling a bit annoyed by her constantly bashing and belittling Naruto.

"Because he's an idiot." She simply replied.

Sai and Kakashi saw that it was no use arguing with the pink haired girl so they left it as it was and simply shook their heads in defeat and disappointment.

* * *

While Naruto was being dragged through the streets by Shizune, he couldn't help but feel embarrassed and panicked. The last time he was dragged like this was when he accidentally called Tsunade old and made a run for it only to have Shizune find him and drag him to Tsunade to be thoroughly cussed off and lectured for what seemed like hours. But now, he had no idea why Shizune was dragging him and where they were going. At this point everybody was staring at him and wondered what wrong doing he did now. It was humiliating not to mention painful. After all, his rear end was being dragged on the hard dirt floor.

"Shizune what's going on?!" He shouted so that she could hear him.

Suddenly she stopped walking and helped the boy up to his feet, "I'm sorry. I wasn't even thinking." She apologized for dragging him in that manner, "We just need to get to Lady Tsunade as soon as possible."

"Why are we going to Granny Tsunade?" He questioned, "What did I do this time?" He grumbled.

"Nothing. She wishes to speak to you and Master Jiraiya about the latest information she received on the Akatsuki."

"The Akatsuki?" He repeated and she nodded her head, "Let's get going then!" He took hold of her hand and ran in the direction of the red mansion with her trailing behind him.

* * *

Jiraiya walked in the Hokage's office to see Tsunade anxiously pacing the floor. She looked as if she had a lot on her mind and this only worried him further. He knew that he walked in the office to receive some bad news but he hoped that it wasn't as serious as he thought it would be. After all, he had a baby on the way and he would hate for her to be born into a dangerous situation with the Akatsuki lurking over her like a dark rain cloud, ready to attack at any moment. He had been standing in the office for what seemed like forever, waiting for Tsunade to acknowledge him but that never happened so he decided to break the silence and talk to her, "You sent for me?"

She stopped pacing and looked into the eyes of the soon to be father of her child. While gazing into his black orbs, she didn't feel the need to keep up her tough act. The truth was that the news she received earlier deeply worried her and had a debilitating affect on her. She knew what she had to do as the Hokage but the plans she had in mind could not be guaranteed to be one hundred percent successful. That worried her the most. She walked up to him in a hurried manner and wrapped her arms around his muscular body. He held her close and gently stroked the back of her head.

"What's wrong sweetie?" He whispered, never letting go of his grip on her.

"Everything." She stated and pulled away from him, "I'm so worried."

"Just tell me everything and we'll work something out together."

Suddenly, Naruto walked in the office with Shizune, "Tell me everything about the Akatsuki Granny!" Naruto demanded.

"Good you're finally here." She said and took a seat at her desk, "Naruto, you don't know this but a few weeks ago I sent out a team consisting solely of chunin ranked ninjas and they were attacked by Akatsuk leader Pain and his accomplice Konan..."

"You don't know this either but I trained Pain and Konan years ago when they were little kids. Never did I expect for them to grow up to be the monsters they are now." Jiraiya chimed in.

"Anyway, one member died and another one got away unharmed but the last member Kaito Hiroshima was taken into captivity. According to the surviving member, they were curious about the happenings in the village, more specifically about you."

Naruto's face changed from it's normal tan color to one that was as white as snow. Fear was evidently running through his veins the moment Tsunade mentioned that they were interested in him. Nobody could blame him for that. After all, the boy lived his life in fear since he was the container of the nine tailed fox demon.

Tsunade saw the look of fear on the boy's face and she wished that she could make it all better but there was no guarantee that she could do that, "I sent out a team of ANBU black ops to locate Kaito and hopefully Pain and Konan." She continued, "They located Kaito... But he was dead."

Jiraiya was shocked but in a way, he was expecting this. Kaito's fate was sealed the moment he was taken into captivity.

"Pain and Konan were nowhere to be found." She informed them and took a deep breath to finish what she had to say, "We have no way of knowing if Kaito betrayed us and told him about our plans for you and... My pregnancy."

Jiraiya's blood was now boiling with anger, "So what now? What do we do?"

Tsunade closed her eyes, desperately wishing that everything would be okay again but she had no such luck. She could not escape from the terrifying reality of Naruto and her child's life being put in danger. She opened her honey colored orbs and looked Jiraiya straight in the face, "What can we do but prepare?"

"Prepare?"

"Yes, prepare for the worst." She rose to her feet and walked over to Naruto. She was now facing him and placed her hands on his shaky shoulders, "I know you're scared but there is a high possibility that Pain knows our plans for you, our plans to keep you out of his reach. If and when he comes looking for you, I want you to be ready." She then turned to Jiraiya, "You will teach him sage jutsu, train him and make him stronger. He must be strong enough to go head to head with the enemy because believe it or not, I have a strong feeling that they'll be coming."

Jiraiya nodded his head in agreement, "I will teach him sage jutsu but what about you? What about our baby?"

Tsunade sighed deeply and turned to Shizune and Naruto, "Can you two excuse us for a moment?" She asked and they agreed, leaving the two Sannin alone.

"Tsunade, we know what to do with Naruto, but our baby? She will be defenseless against the likes of Pain. What if we aren't around when he tries to attack her? What will become of her then?"

All of a sudden, Tsunade began to shake uncontrollably and droplets of water dropped onto the ground before her. It didn't take him long to realize that she was crying.

"Oh God, Tsunade." He said as he rushed to her to envelope her in a tight hug.

"I don't know what I'm going to do Jiraiya." She cried, "I don't know what Pain has in his sick twisted head but if he lays a finger on our daughter and hurts her in any way I will beat him to a bloody pulp until he's no longer living!" She sobbed into his chest, "But what if I'm too late?"

"I wish I had answers Tsunade but I don't. But like you said, we have to prepare for the worst. From now on your bodyguards will be with you all the time and if he still hasn't attacked when our baby is born, ANBU black ops will surround her. That scum will not lay a finger on her. I promise."

She stepped out of his embrace and wiped her eyes, ridding them of her salty tears. She nodded her head, deciding to trust him with every ounce of her being, "Go, train Naruto."

Before he left, he kissed her passionately as if he had never kissed her before, "See you later then?" He said when he broke their kiss.

Smiling gracefully she nodded her head, "Yeah."

"Great."

* * *

Jiraiya and Naruto were now walking side by side on their way to the field where they usually trained. Jiraiya couldn't help but notice that Naruto wasn't behaving in his usual talkative, goofy manner. Furthermore, his face was still sheet white from before. The sage stopped walking and laid his hand against the boy's chest to stop his movement, "Stop Naruto."

The blonde looked up at his mentor, confused as to why he suddenly stopped walking, "Hmm?"

"I know you're scared. This is a lot for one sixteen year old kid to deal with, I know." He started, "But, this depressing, defeated behavior will be the cause of your death."

Naruto's blue eyes grew wide with fear. Death. What a scary thing. He definitely wasn't ready to die but he felt so helpless. The Akstsuki could come for him at any moment and although he knew this a long time ago, this was the first time that it has ever sunk in. Tears formed in his eyes, "It's not fair! Why me?! Why did the fourth Hokage have to put this demon inside of me?! None of my friends have to go through what have gone through and what I am faced with now! Why, why me?!"

"Snap out of it Naruto! Your father would not have put that demon inside of you if he didn't think that you could handle it!"

Naruto froze at Jiraiya's words, "My... My father?"

* * *

**Hi guys! I know I haven't updated lately and I'm sorry. But here it is, chapter 15. I hope you enjoyed it and stay tuned for more.**

**Thank you for reading and reviewing and adding this story to your alerts. It means the world and more to me!**


	16. Welcome to Mount Myoboku

"My... My father?" Naruto asked, lost for words. Did Jiraiya actually say that the forth Hokage was his father? It couldn't be so. Somebody so great and powerful couldn't possibly be his father, "You're lying Pervy sage. You have to be. No way is the forth Hokage my father!"

Jiraiya rubbed his temples in frustration. He couldn't believe that he allowed the secret that was kept hidden for sixteen years to slip out of his mouth. The fact that Minato Namikaze was Naruto's father has been kept hidden in order to protect Naruto from potential enemies however, how long could they continue to keep such a huge detail of his life away from him? He was a young man now and deserved to know of his parentage. There was no going back now. He had to tell him, "Look Naruto." He began, "This isn't the kind of conversation that we should be having in public." He said while looking around his surroundings to see the streets crowded with busy people who could overhear their conversation and spread it around the village like wildfire, "Let's talk in private." Jiraiya said while walking in the direction of the Hokage mansion.

It wasn't too long before they were both seated in the living room of the Hokage's living quarters. It was a spacious room with fancy furniture and well decorated walls. It looked much like how the living room of the leader of a village should look. It wasn't really Jiraiya's taste but he had no say in the matter. It didn't bother him anyway since he spent most of his time in his bedroom. Tsunade enjoyed the design of the living room and that was all that mattered to him.

Feeling as if he couldn't wait any longer, Naruto begged Jiraiya to tell him all that he knew, "Please Pervy Sage, just tell me the truth."

"Look kid, I'm not going to sit here and lie to you. I believe that you're old enough to hear the truth." Jiraiya said before he took a deep breath and continued, "Your parents were Kushina Uzumaki, a spunky red head from the now non existent Land of Edys and Minato Namikaze, our late fourth Hokage."

Naruto felt as if he couldn't breathe. The famous and well respected fourth Hokage was his father. He couldn't believe and wasn't quite sure if he should be happy or sad. He never knew him for he died when he was born but why did he put the fox demon inside of him? Who would bestow such a terrible burden upon their own son? And his mother, how could she allow such a thing to happen to her son? He didn't understand any of this and he was so confused.

Seeing that Naruto didn't know how to respond to the news, Jiraiya made an attempt to explain everything in hopes that Naruto would accept the truth and appreciate it, "I know you're feeling confused right now and I also know that you have a lot of questions so I'm going to try to explain everything to you. It will be up to you to decide how you will respond to everything in the end." With that being said, Jiraiya proceeded with his story, "Sixteen years ago, your mother went into labor with you. It was a joyous yet nerve wracking occasion since your mother was the jinchuriki of the nine tailed fox demon. As you know, a seal is placed on the jinchuriki to keep the demon locked away but there is one way to weaken that seal and that's giving birth. There was no telling what could happen if the nine tails escaped and who would try to manipulate it therefore, Sarutobi sensei decided to have Kushina give birth outside of the village and in a confined area. Nobody knew that she was in labor and that's the way he wanted it to be. Your mother gave birth to you and she was so happy as well as your father but something terrible happened; somehow a masked man knew about Kushina and threatened your father to hand over the nine tails or he would harm you. Of course your father refused and saved you but the man got hold of Kushina and extracted the nine tails from her, almost killing her in the process. He unleashed the demon on the village and Minato took it upon himself as the fourth Hokage to put an end to the calamity. He banished it from the village but the nail of the demon pierced through both your mother and your father. They were surely going to die but before his eyes were shut for good, your father sealed the fox within you believing that one day you could control it. He died along with your mother and you were made the new jinchuriki and the village was saved. Your father died a hero and he and your mother loved you dearly. Never doubt that for a second."

Naruto was speechless. He had no idea that all of that happened the day of his birth. But now, he finally knew of his parentage and the true heroes that they were. Pride swelled within him and overflowed in tears of happiness.

"And don't think that you have no living family members because days before your father died, he made me your godfather. Furthermore, he named you after the main character of my first novel." Jiraiya said happily and reached into his coat to pull out his very first novel, "It wasn't very popular on the market but it was my first so I want you to have a copy." He said, handing it to Naruto. Before he knew it, the boy came crashing into him, wrapping his arms around his body, pulling him in a tight hug, "Okay boy, don't squeeze me to death." Jiraiya said through his giggles.

"I'm sorry Pervy Sage, I'm just so happy that I finally know about my parents and that you're my godfather. All my life I wondered who my parents were and you finally told me. Thank you for that."

"No problem kid, you deserve to know the truth."

Suddenly the door swung open and Tsunade came walking through, "I'll do my paperwork eventually Shizune, just give me a minute to relax! I'm pregnant remember!" She said before she paused to see Naruto and Jiraiya in her living room, "What ate you two doing in here?" She asked and turned to Jiraiya, "I thought I sent you to teach Naruto sage jutsu."

Jiraiya nodded his head, "You did but-"

"And why is Naruto crying?" Tsunade asked, noticing the boy's tears, "Jiraiya what did you do to him?"

"I-I told him about his parents." Jiraiya admitted, preparing himself for the volcano to erupt.

"WHAT?!" She shouted in absolute disbelief, "Are you insane?! Sarutobi sensei didn't want anybody to tell him the truth for a reason!"

Before she could get another word in, Jiraiya interrupted, "I know that but he has the right to know about his parentage and I believe that he's old enough to accept it."

"So why did you just randomly tell him?"

"He was upset and feeling defeated because of the potential attack from the Akatsuki and I made the mistake to allow the fact that the fourth is his father to slip out. I told him that his father believed that he could control the power of the nine tails to give him confidence."

"Now that I know about my parents, I'm not afraid of the Akatsuki. I want to get stronger so that I can defeat all of them and protect the village and my little god sister inside of you."

Tsunade looked at Jiraya when Naruto mentioned the word, 'god sister' and said, "So you told him that as well?"

"I couldn't keep that away from my godson Tsunade."

Tsunade shrugged her shoulders in defeat, "Well, the truth is out so there's no going back." She walked over to Naruto and embraced him in a warm motherly hug, "Be careful Naruto and get stronger." She pulled away from him so that she was looking directly into his blue eyes, "Get strong so that you can defeat those guys, protect yourself. Okay?"

Naruto nodded his head in agreement and she turned to Jiraiya, "You keep him safe and if you fail to do that, one day when you come home all your stuff will be sitting in the sidewalk."

Jiraiya started to laugh at what she just said until he met her serious look, "I'm not even joking." She said with all the seriousness in the world.

"O-Okay." He replied nervously, "Come on Naruto, we gotta train so that you can become stronger."

"Right!" He said happily and followed his master out the door.

Only when she was sure they left did Tsunade close her eyes and say, "Minato, Kushina, watch over your son and keep him safe."

* * *

Naruto and Jiraiya arrived at the grassy field that was occupied by Kiba Inuzuka and his dog Akamaru. The pair weren't doing anything constructive such as training. No, instead they were playing with a rubbery ball that Akamaru seemed to be destroying with his sharp teeth. Kiba noticed Jiraiya and Naruto and knew that they came to that field specifically to train. He waved to Naruto and Jiraiya before he left with his dog in order to give them the space that they needed.

It was a sunny day so it was unbearably hot and the grass blades tickled their toes but both of them didn't seem to mind the harsh heat for they both wanted to focus on training. Naruto wished to become stronger so he could be able to defend himself against the likes of the Akatsuki and Jiraiya vowed to himself and Tsunade to keep the boy safe. The only way to do that was to ensure that he was capable of protecting himself.

"Let's start training Pervy Sage! I need to get stronger as soon as possible!" Naruto said, burning with passion inside.

"Cool your jets Naruto. You can't learn sage Justu here, it's impossible." Jiraiya explained.

"Huh?" He said feeling confused, "Then how did you learn it?"

"You see Naruto, when I was a boy, younger than you, I tried to use the summoning jutsu without signing a contract in blood with an animal. You see, I was so eager to get stronger to impress Tsunade and sweep her off her feet that I was hasty and didn't make smart decisions. I ended up in a whole new world. It was strange at first but then I discovered that it was my destiny to go there. I trained there and learned sage jutsu. Because of that, I'm awesome now."

"You gotta take me to this place!" Naruto begged.

"Okay, okay but before we go... One question, are you ready to be completely committed to learning this new technique? It won't be easy and you'll stumble across many set backs. You have to be one hundred percent devoted. Are you willing to do that?"

Without thinking about it, Naruto agreed, "Absolutely. I know I can do this."

Jiraiya smiled at his determination, "Well in that case..." He made a few hand signs and soon the two of them vanished and left behind a large puff of smoke.

Naruto opened his eyes and found himself standing in an area that was full of huge plants, grass, lakes and in every corner, there was a frog. It seemed as if it was a dream. He was literally in the land of frogs. Only when his confusion got the better of him, did he turn to look at Jiraiya who was just standing there happily, smiling at every inch of the strange place.

"Welcome to Mount Myoboku."

"I-Is this where you trained?" Naruto asked in awe of his surroundings. Never in his life has he seen a place so beautiful yet at the same time strange. It was mind boggling and yet, he loved every part of it.

"Yup." Jiraiya replied proudly. This place was like a second home to him. When he was young he trained here and in his world. He went back and forth and sometimes, he preferred this place to his home. Here, nobody judged him or made fun of him. No, here all the toads loved him and was eager to train him because they thought that he was the child of prophecy. In the real world, he was nothing more than the annoying village pervert.

"It's amazing." Naruto said as he wales around to get a better look around. He went to a nearby lake and crouched down to examine the little tadpoles swimming around near the surface of the water. He smiled at the sight and rose to his feet and turned around only to come face to face with a giant toad that looked like Gamatatsu only it wasn't. Instead, it was a female giant toad who didn't look too amused to see Naruto examining the tadpoles who were more than likely her children.

"Is there a reason why you're looking at my babies?" She asked angrily, "Who are you anyway? The only human who has ever come here is Jiraiya!"

Before Naruto could defend himself against the angry mother toad, Jiraiya interrupted, "My student here was just making sure that your children were safe." He lied, "He's no danger to them at all. In fact, he's here to train in sage jutsu."

"Really?" She asked, not buying Jiraiya's story.

"Yes." He assured her, "Now, have you any idea where Lord Fukusaku and Lady Shima are?"

The toad rolled her bulging eyes and pointed to a cave, not too far from where they were standing, "They're in there with the Great Toad Sage."

"Thank you." He said before turning in the direction of the cave, "Come on Naruto."

* * *

"Lord Fukusaku, Lady Shima?" Jiraiya said as he entered the dark cave. He received no answer so walked further into the cave with Naruto by his side until they found them sitting at both sides of the Great Toad Sage.

"Jiraiya boy is that you?!" Fukusaku asked in shock, "How is it possible that you're standing before us? You're supposed to be dead, I saw you sink into the depths of ocean!"

"I survived but I'll tell you that story at another time." Jiraiya smiled and embraced the old toad until he was hit in the head by a sobbing hysterical Shima.

"How could you do that to us boy?! We were so distraught when we thought you died!" She cried, still hitting him.

"I'm sorry! Ow that hurts!"

"Stop hitting the boy Ma!"

She stopped hitting him and only then was he able to embrace her.

"So what brings you here Jiraiya boy?" Fukusaku asked, "Just wanted to stop by to say hello? And I see you brought Naruto with you. Wanted to show him where you trained?"

Jiraiya shook his head, "Nope." He started, "I brought him here so that you can teach him sage jutsu."

"Huh? You want us to teach him?"

"That's why I brought him here."

"But Jiraiya boy, are you sure that he's ready for this?"

Jiraiya looked at Naruto and saw nothing but determination in his eyes. He had no shadows of a doubt that Naruto wouldn't be able to master this new technique. Sure it would take weeks, perhaps even months of hard work but he knew within his heart that Naruto could handle it. After all, Naruto was just like him when he was his age. If Jiraiya could master it, so could his protégé.

"I'm sure."

"Very well." Fukusaku turned to Naruto and urged him to come closer, "You'll be under my wing now boy. I won't go easy on you."

"You're going to teach me? I thought Pervy Sage was going to."

"Naruto, you have to stay here and learn this new technique. I can't stay here with you. Remember Tsunade is pregnant and I need to be there for her. She is carrying my child after all. Don't worry though, Lord Fukusaku here is more than capable of teaching you. He was the one who taught me you know."

Naruto nodded his head and Fukusaku's jaw fell to the ground in disbelief, "Tsunade girl is pregnant with your child?!" He shouted, "When did this happen?! Am I missing something."

"I'll tell you all about it at another time Pa. But for now, I gotta go." Jiraiya laughed, "Can I have a moment alone with Naruto before I head off?"

The toads agreed and left master and student alone to talk, "Look Naruto." Jiraiya began, "I know you're going to do great. Work hard and I'll see you when you're a sage."

"I won't let you down, I promise."

"You promise? Well let's shake on it." Jiraiya said and held out his hand to Naruto. They shook hands and with a puff of smoke, Jiraiya was gone.

"I'm not going to let anyone down."

* * *

**Naruto is going to be a sage just like Jiraiya!**

**I'm going to speed things up a bit with a time jump in the next chapter.**

**Thanks for sticking with me even though I've been a bad and haven't updated in a while. Sorry! **

**Thanks again xoxoxo**


	17. I'm Not An Invalid

There was not a day that went by that Tsunade didn't spend in her office. Every day and every night she worked tirelessly in her office, trying to come up with ways to track the Akatsuki and hopefully bring them down. However, she always stumbled across more than one obstacles. The Akatsuki made sure to keep themselves hidden to keep any unwanted ninjas off their trail. Even if Leaf ninja encountered the Akatsuki, there was no guarantee that they could actually defeat them. The Akatsuki were strong, too strong. So strong that they managed to defeat the likes of Jiraiya, one of the strongest ninjas to ever walk the earth. They were indeed in a dire situation. The Akatsuki threatened the security of the village, of Naruto and perhaps even the growing baby in Tsunade's womb. However, Tsunade was now in her ninth and final month of pregnancy. There was no doubt that the pressures of her job were taking a toll on her body. She was constantly tired and furthermore, lately she has been feeling a cramping sensation in her lower stomach. That wasn't normal, especially for a woman in her stage of pregnancy but she figured that it was a mere stomach ache and forgot about it.

Tsunade was in her office once again, plagued with fatigue but nevertheless she continued to work. She wouldn't allow the Akatsuki to pose as a threat to them and perhaps even stomp all over the village like it was an insignificant piece of garbage and capture Naruto and perhaps her very child. No, she wouldn't allow that happen. For as long as she was the Hokage, everybody would be safe. That's why she couldn't stop working. She was so engrossed in her work that she didn't even notice when her door swung open and when Jiraiya walked in. He out of everybody else, was extremely concerned about Tsunade. He felt as if she was working too hard for someone as pregnant as she was. He could see that she was looking abnormally haggard but of course, he couldn't knock some sense in her and tell her to put the pen down for she was stubborn and only saw things her way.

"Tsunade." He said while walking towards her and once he was beside her, he placed a gentle hand upon her weary shoulder, "How are you feeling today sweetheart?" He asked with such concern in his voice.

Tsunade sighed and shrugged his hand off her shoulder, "Can't you see that I'm busy at the moment?" She growled, "Why do you insist on coming in here and disturbing me?!"

"I just want to know how you are. Lately you haven't been feeling very well. I can see the fatigue in your eyes." He gently took the pen she was writing with from her grasp, pleading her to stop working, "Perhaps you should rest."

"Give me that!" She shouted and grabbed the pen forcefully away from him, "In case you've forgotten, the Akatsuki can show up at any moment to try and kidnap Naruto and possibly destroy the village and everyone in it at the same time. I can't just simply stop working with that possible calamity looming over my head!"

"I know that but Tsunade you're pregnant. You can't run yourself haggard. Think about your health and the baby."

"I-I feel fine." She lied, "Please just leave me alone. I need to work."

"Are you sure about that? You look exhausted."

"I'm certain."

"Promise me that you'll rest soon, perhaps in half an hour?"

Tsunade nodded her head just to get him off her back when in reality, she wouldn't obey his wishes, "I promise."

This caused Jiraiya to smile. He bent down and gave her a quick peck on the lips, "I just want you and the baby to be okay. That's all."

"And we will be." Tsunade said while taking hold of Jiraiya's hand and placing it on her stomach so that he could feel the strong kicks of their unborn child, "See." Tsunade started when she saw Jiraiya's smile after he felt the kick, "She's just fine and so am I."

"Well I'm glad."

"Now please leave." Tsunade said while pointing towards the door.

He followed her wishes and left the room, leaving her alone to work in peace.

Tsunade continued to work when Jiraiya left. She didn't particularly enjoy blatantly lying to him but she had to work and the only way to do that in peace was to lie to him. She felt that because she was the Hokage, she had to devote all her time and efforts into the well being of the village. Sure, she was feeling under the weather, but she dealt with it and continued to work.

A few hours later, Taunade felt an uncomfortable cramping sensation in her lower stomach. She didn't further analyze the situation but instead simply passed it off as an upset stomach. The feeling was rather uncomfortable but it wasn't anything that she couldn't handle. She ignored it and went back to work. A few moments after dismissing the cramping, a sharp, excruciating pain ripped through her body. It was as if a bolt of electricity ran through her body and crippled her for the pain continued to tear through her body like a sharp knife. She stumbled to her feet with her arm around her bloated stomach as if standing and holding her belly could ease the pain. She didn't understand what was happening to her and she felt too weak to use her medical ninjutsu on herself to analyze her painful situation. Suddenly, she felt warmth coming from between her thighs and only when she looked down did she see her pants stained with a red substance that was nothing but her own blood. Something was wrong, she shouldn't be bleeding like that, especially not while she was pregnant. Was her baby okay? Was she okay? What was going on?

"Shizune! Shizune!" She shouted with all her might in hopes that her trusted assistant would hear her and come running to her aid.

Another sharp pain ran through her body but this one was the most painful, most agonizing one of them all. That pain took all the life away from her and made her feel extremely weak. Her feet became wobbly and caused her to stumble upon the hard floor. Luckily she didn't fall on her stomach. The pain continued to torment her and soon she felt herself become engulfed in darkness. Her eyes fluttered open and closed until all she could see was pitch black.

"Lady Tsunade?" Shizune said while storming through the office door. She heard her master's scream and came to her aid. Never did she expect to see her mentor unconscious on the ground, "Lady Tsunade!" She screamed in horror as she realized that Tsunade was passed out, "Lady Tsunade can you hear me?!" She asked while she went down to Tsunade's level and cradled her heavy head in her arms. When Tsunade's unconscious body was in her arms, she realized that Tsunade's pants were stained in blood. She gasped in horror and didn't hesitate for a second before she focused her healing chakra to her palm and placed it on her master's stomach. Something was wrong in her pregnancy. She just hoped that both mother and child were okay. One could only hope...

* * *

Tsunade's eyes fluttered open and wandered around the strange room she was currently situated in. The walls were painted light green and the windows were adorned with simple white curtains. She looked to her left and noticed a lovely arrangements of yellow flowers with a get well card attached to it. She knew exactly where she was, she was in the hospital. Upon realizing where she was and remembering why she was in there, she gasped in fear and her hand immediately went to her stomach and directed her chakra to her womb. She sighed in relief when she saw that her baby was still alive and healthy. Suddenly she felt somebody squeeze her right hand. She turned in the direction of the squeeze only to see Jiraiya sitting beside her wearing a look of relief on his face.

"You gave me quite a scare today Tsunade." He said as he rose to his feet and wrapped his arms around her weak body, "I was so afraid that something terrible was happening to you and our baby. I'm so glad you're okay."

"What happened to me?" She asked and he unwrapped his arms from her body.

He gently removed a stray hair from her face and caressed her cheek, "You almost had a still birth."

Tsunade felt her heart stop within her chest as Jiraiya uttered those words. A still birth? How could she run the risk of a still birth when she was doing everything right? The very thought of giving birth to a dead baby was enough to bring tears to her eyes. She carried her baby for nine months and she would be absolutely devastated if that were to ever happen.

"A still birth?"

Jiraiya nodded his head, "Shizune said that it could be because of your age as well as your stress level. From now on you're supposed to get plenty of rest. Shizune is placing you of complete bed rest."

"Bed rest?!" Tsunade repeated in disapproval, "She knows damn right that I can't stop working. No way, I'm not going on bed rest."

"Yes you are." Jiraiya stressed, "Think about the health of the baby and your health. Tsunade you have to. It will reduce the risk of a still birth."

"So I have to stay in bed until the baby is born like a cripple?" She asked in disgust, still completely against the idea. Being on bed rest meant that she couldn't work.

"Just until the baby is born. It won't be too long from now anyway since you're due in about two weeks." Jiraiya laid a hand on her shoulder and gave her his famous smile, "And perhaps we can get that old bat Koharu to wait on you hand a foot."

"Fine." She sighed, still not happy about her situation, "When can I get out of here?"

Suddenly Shizune walked through the door with a clip board in hand, "Nice to see you awake Lady Tsunade. You gave us all quite the scare, not to mention Lady Koharu, she was going into hysterics." She said while walking over to her mentor and checking all her vitals. When she was satisfied with Tsunade's condition she gave her the okay to go home, "You can go now but you must stay in bed. Okay?"

"Yeah, yeah." Tsunade groaned, "Jiraiya told me all about that."

"Did he also tell you that you're probably going to have a difficult delivery?"

"N-No he didn't tell me that part. What?!" She said and glared at Jiraiya.

"Did I forget to tell you that?" He laughed off, trying to avoid her wrath, "Sorry." He scratched the back of his head nervously and allowed his eyes to wander around the room, never daring to look at the now angry Tsunade.

"Due to your age and the complications that you experienced today, when you're ready to deliver the baby, it may be quite difficult and extremely painful. I have all the finest nurses on call in case you go into labor. We'll try our best to make it as easy as possible for you."

"I guess I can't do anything about that." Tsunade shrugged, "I'll just have to be prepared for it."

"You have plenty of time to do that... In bed." Shizune said and then looked at Jiraiya, "You can take her home now Master Jiraiya but please ensure that she rests and drinks a lot of liquids."

"I will." He assured Shizune and then turned to Tsunade, "Are you ready to go?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course I am!"

* * *

Jiraiya and Tsunade walked home together. He supported her by wrapping his arm around her waist to pull her close to his body in order to ensure that she could not fall. She wasn't happy about her new arrangements but she decided to comply to Shizune's strict instructions for the sake of her baby. She loved her more than anything in the world despite the fact that she wasn't born yet and already she felt a strong connection to her. That baby was made out of the love that she shared with Jiraiya and there was no way that she would allow anything to happen to her. So if she had to stay in bed like a crippled old woman for weeks and weeks, she would do just that.

"I can walk by myself you know, I'm not an invalid. People are staring." Tsunade said as she noticed that people were looking at them walk home.

"Then let them stare." Jiraiya declared, "I don't care. I'm helping my pregnant girlfriend home. I could care less about people looking at us, I'm looking out for your well being and that's all that matters to me."

"Stop being so sweet." She said and playfully hit him on the arm.

They continued to walk until they got home. Instead of allowing Tsunade to walk up the stairs to their home, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her bridal style into the house. Of course she protested to this but he wouldn't let her down. He continued to carry her all the way to their bedroom where he laid her gently on the bed.

"You really need to stop treating me like a cripple."

"No can do, I'm going to be there for you twenty four seven." He said and gave her a quick peck on the lips, "Now, what do you want to eat?"

She looked at him as if he were a mad man, "Jiraiya, Shizune isn't here." She reminded him. Shizune usually cooked all their meals.

"I know that. I'm going to cook for you."

"Are you trying to give me food poisoning on top of everything I have to deal with?"

"Of course not. I bought a cook book." He said proudly, holding up the new book he purchased, "What would you like?"

"Give me that." She said, grabbing the book from his hands. She glanced each and every page of the book until she stumbled across something that she would enjoy eating. She wasn't sure if he could pull it off but she decided to trust him, "I want that." She said, pointing to the meal, "Think you can pull it off without giving me a stomach ache?"

He looked at where she was pointing and smiled, "Beef stew. It just so happens that I can actually make that really good."

"I'll be the judge of that." She teased.

He fluffed her pillow and covered her over with a warm blanket, "Now you stay in bed. Are you comfortable?"

"Extremely." She sighed into her fluffy pillow.

"Great." He smiled and spotted a small moving pink object on the ground that could only be TonTon. He gathered her in his arms and placed her beside Tsunade, "TonTon will keep you company while I'm in the kitchen."

TonTon snuggled into Tsunade's lap and fell asleep, "Don't take too long. I'm getting kind of hungry."

"I'll try my best." Jiraiya said before leaving the room and walked straight into the kitchen. He retrieved some strips of beef from the fridge as well as some carrots and other vegetables that would be delicious in a beef stew. He immediately went to work, placing a pot of water on the stove, allowing it to boil and them added some spices and other seasonings before putting the carrots and strips of beef in the boiling pot. The air was filled with the aroma of a delicious stew. He left it to boil some more and a few minutes later, it was ready. He poured some into a boil and then poured a glass of water into a glass and placed both the bowl and glass on a tray. He carried the tray happily into the room and sighed in delight as he saw Tsunade fast asleep with TonTon snuggled up next to her. She looked so beautiful and so peaceful. His heart swelled with happiness. He was happy at the fact that she was actually his girlfriend after years and years of loving her but never having her love him back. His life was perfect at the moment and he loved every second of it. He placed the tray on the bedside table and gently touched her shoulder, urging her to wake up, "Tsunade." He whispered in her ear. She slowly opened her eyes and smiled when she saw Jiraiya before her eyes.

"Is the food ready?" She asked with a raspy voice, "The baby is hungry."

He nodded his head and pointed to the tray beside her, "Yup, smells amazing doesn't it."

"Surprisingly it does."

He helped her into a sitting position and placed the tray in her lap. Before she could claim the spoon in her hands, he grabbed it, "I'll help you."

"I can feed myself you know."

"I know that but I want to do it for you."

She didn't argue, instead she allowed him to feed her. He placed the spoon in the stew and blew on it, ensuring that it wasn't too hot to be consumed and carried it to her lips. She opened her mouth and took in the stew. It was delicious. Who knew that Jiraiya could actually cook something that wouldn't result in her living with her head in the toilet for days.

"This is amazing Jiraiya." She gasped as her taste buds danced with excitement over the stew, "How did you learn to cook like this?"

"I remember one day when we were kids, you invited me over to your house and your mom made beef stew. I remember you telling her that it was one of your favorite meals so I learned how to make it in hopes that one day I could actually make it for you."

"I-I can't believe you actually did that."

Jiraiya shrugged his shoulders, "I'm just glad that I can actually cook for you now." He continued to feed her like a baby until she was satisfied. He took the empty tray back into the kitchen and placed the empty bowl and glass in the sink and washed and dried them. He then went back to Tsunade's side. She was gently stroking TonTon now. He climbed in the empty space beside her and placed his hand gently on her baby bump. He rubbed circles on her stomach and then placed a soft kiss to it, right above her belly button, "What do you think she'll look like?"

Tsunade didn't know what to say. The appearance of her child didn't really matter to her, "As long as she's healthy, I'll be happy."

"I hope she looks like you."

"And why is that?"

"Because having two Tsunades around will make me the happiest man alive."

She leaned over to him and captured his lips with her own. When they broke apart, she looked directly into his obsidian eyes, "Thanks for being so sweet."

"No need to thank me." He said and noticed how tired she looked. She has been through a lot in just a few hours so he wanted to do something kind for her,something that would leave her completely at ease. He shifted his position in the bed until he was directly in front of her. He grabbed her leg and ran his hand down the milky smooth flesh of her leg until his hands landed on her foot. He gently squeezed it and gave her a breath taking massage.

"That feels so good Jiraiya." She sighed in delight, "Don't ever stop."

He worked on that foot and then moved on to the neglected one. His skilled fingers wiped away all the built up tension and stress in her feet and left her completely relaxed. It wasn't too long before she fell asleep wrapped in his strong arms. She went from being in total pain to lying in complete comfort and it was all thanks to the white haired idiot that she fell so madly in love with.

* * *

Tsunade's due date came and went and she was still pregnant. It was as if the baby didn't want to leave the comfort of her mother's womb and while she was completely fine with that, Tsunade was left in total discomfort. She felt like a huge whale lying in her bed and she wanted nothing more than to simply give birth. She was ready to get out of bed and return to her work but most of all, she was ready to meet her precious baby. Jiraiya was a saint for even though she was miserable and unpleasant to be around due to her discomfort, he never left her side for a second. He continued to cook for her and give her daily massages. Sometimes foot rubs, back rubs or full body massages. She was grateful to him and never forgot to tell him thank you and remind him of how much she loved and appreciated him. Of course, he wouldn't accept her words of thanks for he believed that it was his duty to wait on her hand and foot. He just wanted her to be okay as well as his baby. Like Tsunade, he wanted to meet the baby too. He was ready to change diapers, to hold the small bundle in his arms and coo at how cute she was and how much she reminded him of her mother. He was ready to be a father. Of course it would take some getting used to since he has never fathered a child before, but he was ready and willing to learn. He wanted nothing more than to provide his child with the best life that he could possibly give her. Therefore, he was anxiously awaiting the day that Tsunade would finally give birth. However, he felt bad for his pregnant girlfriend for he could see how uncomfortable she was and how anxious she was to have the baby. If he could, he would make her go into labor but there was nothing he could do but wait.

"Tsunade." He called as he walked into their bedroom. He saw Tsunade lying in the bed, softly singing a lullaby to her stomach. He knew she was singing to their unborn child. How he wished that he could see her singing to her in person. He imagined her holding the small bundle in her arms and hearing the adorable giggles from the baby as Tsunade sang. He was longing for that moment and he knew that Tsunade was longing for it too. He walked over to her and kissed her on the cheek, "You'll have the baby soon."

"It seems as if I'll never have this baby." She said sadly, "I'm uncomfortable and miserable all the time. All I want is to feel my child in my arms. I want to look at her, to touch her, but it seems like I'll never get that chance. It's like she doesn't want to come out."

He climbed into the bed beside her and placed a kiss to her neck. This caused her to groan happily so he did it again, only allowing his lips to linger there longer. His lips then trailed up the side of her neck until it landed on her flushed cheek, then her nose and finally her lips. Tongues tangled and saliva mixed as they shared a passionate kiss. Her hands ran up and down his arms and landed on his chest. She fumbled with his buttons until she managed to push his shirt off of his body. She felt each and every one of his muscles and then she broke away from their kiss and placed chaste kisses all over his chest. He kissed her neck once again and managed to discard her top on the ground. He gasped at the beauty of her bear chest and didn't hesitate to pleasure her body by cupping one in his hand and place kisses to the neglected one. She moaned and groaned his name as he worked on her and when she couldn't take it any longer, she stuffed her hand into his trousers and took hold of the object that gave her complete pleasure. She stroked him while he kissed her once again but just before she could dispose of his trousers on the ground, she felt a warm liquid run out of her body and soak her pants. She gasped in shock and looked down.

"Oh my God." She gasped as she broke away from his kiss.

"What's wrong?" He panted.

"I-I think my water broke..."

* * *

**Tsunade is going into labor! **

**So this chapter was filled with JiraTsu fluff. I hope you enjoyed it. **

**Thanks for reading and reviewing etc etc.**

**If you haven't already, check out my other JiraTsu fanfiction 'Scattered Pieces'. **

**I'm currently working on this fanfiction as well as my other one at the same time so that's why my updating has been a bit slow but I'll work on that and try to update more often.**

**Thanks again and keep your eyes open for the next chapter, I promise that it's be fluffy and adorable.**

**Bye!**

**Xoxoxo**


	18. The Child of Greatness

"Get this baby out of me!" Tsunade screamed in excruciating pain. She was sweating profusely, causing her blonde bangs to stick to her face. Pain ripped through her body like lightening and left her in complete agony. Shizune told her that her labor would be difficult but never did she think that the difficulty would be at such a high level. Unlike Kurenai, her labor moved along quickly because now she was dilated eight centimeters. A woman has to be dilated exactly ten centimeters before she could give birth and Tsunade wasn't too far away from that time.

Jiraiya never left her side, he was right there with her through it all. He had a constant grip on her hand so whenever she felt a contraction, she would squeeze his hand so tight, almost breaking it and cutting off his circulation due to her monstrous strength. He didn't tell her to stop though because the pain that he felt was nothing compared to the crippling pain that she was in. How insensitive would he be if he told her that she was hurting him? In fact, that would only anger her and instead of letting go of his hand, she would continue to squeeze it but deliberately try to hurt him.

"You're doing great Tsunade." Jiraiya said, feeling the need to assure her that she was doing a good job, "It won't be too long now before we meet our baby."

"I never... Thought that the pain would be... This unbearable." Tsunade panted heavily, "Perhaps if I were younger, it wouldn't be so bad." She said, "Why do I have to be so damn old?!"

Suddenly, Tsunade felt an intense pain and it didn't take her too long to realize that it was another contraction. Jiraiya coached her through it like what he has been doing when she experienced her previous contractions. He told her to breathe in and out and she did just that until the pain slowly went away. Jiraiya's heart broke every time she had to go through a contraction. Of course he knew that she had to live through them in order to have their baby but he felt terrible for her. Somehow he wished that he could take away her pain and magically take the baby out of her, but that was impossible. He was responsible for all of this so he only wished that he could have more control over the situation and help her more than simply saying that she's doing great and that everything would be alright. He was powerless when it came to the birth of their baby and he absolutely hated that.

"That was a tough one." Tsunade said and Jiraiya immediately sapped her sweaty brow with a sponge. Soaking up all her beads of sweat.

"I'm sorry." He said softly.

"What are you sorry for?"

"I'm sorry that you have to go through all of this. If I could take away your pain and suffering, I would."

"This is what I have to go through in order to have our baby. Don't feel bad, it's only temporary and soon, we'll be the happiest people in the world when we see our daughter for the first time."

He smiled and placed a tender kiss to her lips. Suddenly, Shizune walked in the room and immediately walked over to Tsunade. She examined her to ensure that everything was alright and then she checked how many centimeters she was dilated now.

"Looks like you're ready to have your baby Lady Tsunade." Shizune smiled, "I'll be right back." The black haired medic left the room in order to gather a staff of nurses to assist her in the delivery. It was I deed going to be difficult therefore she needed extra help in case something were to go wrong.

"Well this is it." Jiraiya said before taking a deep breath. Today was the day that he was going to become a father. His life was going to change drastically after his child emerged from her mother's womb. There would be no more late nights at the bar and no more spending money frivolously on the most random of things. He was now going to be responsible for another human life and as scary as it all seemed, he was ready. He was ready to sower his baby with love and raise her to be the best person and ninja that she could possibly be. He was ready for Fatner's Days spent with his daughter, he was ready to hear, 'I love you daddy.' Every night and morning. So the thought of being responsible for how his kid turned out didn't scare him, it simply made him excited.

"Yup, this is it." She said and then looked straight into his obsidian eyes, "I love you."

"And I love you too."

Shizune walked in the room once again with her staff of nurses by her side, "Okay Lady Tsunade, it's time to push."

Tsunade put her legs up and her hospital gown was pulled up to her knees. One of the nurses held her left knee and Jiraiya held her right knee in order for her legs to stay open. She was nervous but like Jiraiya, she was ready for parenthood.

The moment Shizune said, "Start pushing on the count of three.", Tsunade's heart started to race and her adrenaline was pumping through her body like blood. This was it. This was the moment when she would become a parent and completely responsible for another human life other than her own. It was no longer all about her but now it would be all about her daughter.

"One... Two... Three. Push!"

Tsunade took a deep breath and directed all of her strength to the muscles of her womb. She pushed so hard that she ran out of breath and had to take another deep breath. She pushed, oh how she pushed but she felt as of she wasn't making any progress. She expected to hear the cries of a new born baby by now but heard nothing but Shizune constantly telling her to push, Jiraiya's words of encouragement and her own cries of pain. Why wasn't her baby born yet? Was something wrong?

"Oh no." Shizune gasped.

"What?!" Jiraiya asked, feeling extremely nervous, "What's wrong?"

"The baby is breached." Shizune said and motioned for him to stand beside her to see what she was talking about.

Jiraiya went by her side and he couldn't believe what he saw. Protruding out of Tsunade's body were two tiny feet covered in blood and other bodily fluids. Their baby was indeed breached but she was still alive. They never expected for this to happen but it wasn't uncommon.

"My baby... Is she, is she okay?" Tsunade asked, breathing heavily with sweat dripping down her face.

"She's fine Lady Tsunade, she's just in a difficult position so you have to push even harder." Shizune explained.

"O-Okay." Tsunade said, feeling even more nervous than before.

She was weak and exhausted from all the previous pushing that she had to do but she had to muster up enough strength to push her baby out. She knew that it was going to be even more painful that before but what could she do? She couldn't tell the baby to go back into her womb and come out the right way. She just had to do what she had to do.

"Are you ready to push again?"

Tsunade nodded her head and gave a mighty push with all of her strength until she felt her baby slip out of her. She waited for what seemed like hours to her even though it was just a few seconds until she heard the sound of her baby crying for the first time. Others would have found the cries to be loud and annoying but she thought that it sounded absolutely beautiful. She watched as her daughter was taken away to be cleaned up and after a few moments, she was brought back to her and placed in her arms.

"Meet your daughter Lady Tsunade."

Tsunade and Jiraiya looked down at their newborn baby girl as if she were a rare piece of gold, a treasure of the earth. She was perfect in every way with all ten fingers and all ten toes intact. Her hair was the same sun kissed blonde color as her mother's and her features were almost identical to Tsunade's as well, but when she opened her eyes for the first time, Tsunade and Jiraiya saw obsidian orbs looking up at them, the same color as Jiraiya's.

"She's beautiful Tsunade, just like you." Jiraiya said while looking down at his child but then placed a kiss to the top of Tsunade's head.

"She's perfect." Tsunade said softly as tears of joy welled up in her eyes, "I couldn't have asked for a more perfect child."

"Neither could I." Jiraiya said.

"I love her so much already."

"Me too."

Shizune approached the new parents with a paper and pen in her hand, "Do we have a name?"

"I'm not sure." Tsunade confessed, never taking her eyes off of her child, "Jiraiya, can you think of any names?"

Jiraiya thought for a moment and then came up a name that he thought would suit his daughter, "How about Mito after your grandmother?"

"Mito." Tsunade repeated then looked at her baby.

"By giving her that name, we will be honoring your grandmother. Furthermore, that name will bring our daughter luck and perhaps she will be just as kind and gentle just as Mito Uzumaki was."

"I like it." Shizune said, "What do you think Lady Tsunade?"

"I like it." She agreed and caressed Mito's cheek, "Your name is Mito little one."

"Will she take your last name or Master Jiraiya's?"

"She'll definitely have Jiraiya's last name. He is her father after all." Tsunade smiled up at Jiraiya.

He walked over to her with a smile and kissed her lips, "Maybe one day Mito's mom can take my last name too."

Now that they had a child, Jiraiya wanted nothing more than to marry Tsunade but he knew that it was a far fetched dream of his. He didn't know why, but he felt as if she didn't want to marry him and couldn't help but feel as if he was the reason why. Maybe he wasn't good enough for her or maybe she just didn't love him as much as he loved her. He didn't know the reason why they were not married yet but that didn't stop him from still wanting to marry her.

"Maybe one day she will." Tsunade smiled.

Jiraiya's heart stopped in his chest after hearing her words and seeing her smile. Was this really happening? Was she serious? He expected a punch to the fast but instead received an answer that showcased a possibility for them to be married. It wasn't a definite yes but it was good enough for him.

"Really?" He asked.

"Yeah."

He bent down to kiss her again and when they pulled away from each other, Jiraiya had glossy eyes, "Oh Tsunade, you made me the happiest man in the world today. You've given me a daughter and hope that one day, you could be my wife."

Tsunade giggled and used her free hand to caress his face, "You've made me the happiest woman in the world because now I have a little girl who's going to call me mommy."

Shizune approached them once again, "It's time for my little sister to go to the nursery." Shizune said happily and scooped up the tiny bundle in her arms. Mito was important to her so she saw her as a little sister. All her knowledge would be passed down to her, "I'll bring her back when she needs to be fed." She said, "Come on Mito, let's go to the nursery with the other babies." She cooed and walked out of the room.

* * *

It wasn't too long until news about the birth of the Hokage's child circulated around the village and even other villages. Soon little Mito was the topic of everyone's conversations and her appearance and name were highly talked about. Everybody wanted to see her and welcome her to the village. After all, according to Koharu, she was the child of greatness.

Koharu was overjoyed when she heard of the news and didn't hesitate for a second before she found herself to the hospital. She burst into Tsunade's hospital room like a SWAT team and demanded to see the baby.

"Where is she?" She asked while looking all over the room, "Where's my child of greatness?"

"Look Koharu." Jiraiya started, "Tsunade is very tired so it was quite rude of you to barge in here without warning and if you must know MY child is in the nursery, probably sleeping. Shizune will bring her in here when it is time for her to get fed."

"I must see her now! Is she beautiful? What does she look like? And what is her name? Oh Jiraiya, please tell me!"

Jiraiya sighed and noticed that Tsunade was squirming in her sleep due to all the noise that the old woman was creating. He stepped outside with Koharu and proceeded to tell her everything, "Her name is Mito, after Tsunade's grandmother? She looks just like Tsunade with her blonde hair and physical features but she has my eyes. She's gorgeous just like her mother."

"Mito. That's such a nice name and an honor for the first Hokage's wife. Yes, that name definitely would suit the child of greatness. What of her last name? Is it Senju? Well of course it must be since Senju is such a prestigious last name. Mito Senju. Perfect, absolutely perfect."

"Koharu!" Jiraiya shouted to interrupt the woman's annoying rant, "She took my last name. You seem to forget that I'm her father."

"Yes I know that but you and Tsunade aren't married so Mito doesn't have to take your surname. Tsunade comes from a prestigious family so it would only look good on the child for her to take Tsunade's surname. You don't hail from a clan so your last name is unknown to many and quite frankly, it doesn't sound all that good either."

"Look Koharu, I don't care what you think of me or my last name. Mito is my daughter and Tsunade wanted to give her my name. No matter what you do or what you say, she is my flesh and blood, not yours. Remember that."

Suddenly, Shizune came walking down the hall with a squirming bundle in her arms. It was obvious that little Mito was hungry and therefore ready to be fed.

"Oh my! Is that Mito?" Koharu said and walked over to Shizune to peer into her arms to look down at the swaddled baby, "She's beautiful! The child of greatness is beautiful!"

"With all due respect Lady Koharu, you're being too loud. We wouldn't want for Mito to get scared by your loud voice." Shizune said and then looked at Jiraiya, "Would you like to hold her?"

Jiraiya nodded and Shizune placed the baby in his arms. She felt so fragile and small in his arms that he was nervous that she would crumble in his care. He carried her like fine china into Tsunade's room and was followed by Shizune and Koharu. Shizune gently tapped Tsunade's shoulder and caused her to wake up.

"Hmmm?" Tsunade grumbled.

"It's time to feed Mito."

Suddenly all the tiredness that Tsunade felt was gone and she sprung up from her sleeping position to a sitting one.

"Congratulations Tsunade." Koharu said, "You're daughter is perfect."

"I know." Tsunade agreed, "Now can you get the hell out? I have to feed her."

"Can't I stay?"

"No! I don't want you to be in here when I'm breast feeding my baby! Now get out!"

Koharu mumbled a few expletives under her breath and exited the room. Now that Tsunade was no longer pregnant, she went back to despising her, only tolerating her because of Mito.

Tsunade unbuttoned the buttons of her blouse and when her breast was out, Jiraiya handed her the baby. She was unsure of what to do but all her uncertainty vanished when Mito latched on to her nipple and began to suck gently. It felt weird at first but then she found it to be a breathtaking, precious moment between mother and child. She felt a special bond to her baby while breast feeding and it was almost unbreakable. She watched as her baby filled her stomach and when Mito had her fill, she pulled away. Tsunade held the baby to her chest and patted her small back gently until she burped. Afterwards, she rocked the baby until she fell asleep.

"You did great Lady Tsunade." Shizune said and took the sleeping baby from Tsunade's arms, "It's like you're a professional already."

"I highly doubt that." Tsunade disagreed.

"Stop being so modest Tsunade, you're a natural."

"If you say so..."

* * *

The following day, Tsunade was allowed to take the baby home from the hospital. The entire day was chaotic because even before they walked out of the hospital, a crowd of people gathered outside of the hospital waiting for Tsunade and the new baby to emerge from the hospital. They couldn't simply tell them to leave, for they too had a right to gather wherever they wished to gather. Neither Tsunade nor Jiraiya didn't have a problem with the crowd for they knew that they just wanted to see the baby and wish them well and offer words of congratulations.

They walked out of the hospital together and as expected, a crowd of people were waiting in them. Jiraiya was holding the bags while Tsunade held Mito.

"Congratulations!" The crowd shouted and all the new parents could do was smile and say thank you.

"What's her name?" One person asked.

"Her name is Mito." Jiraiya said.

"Like Hashirama Senju's wife?"

"Yes, she is named after my grandmother." Tsunade said, "We'll pose for one picture but after that we have to get home. Mito is starting to get a little cranky." She said, noticing Mito squirm.

Jiraiya wrapped his arm around Tsunade's shoulder and they both looked into the camera with big smiles. Once the camera flashed, the broke their pose and headed home. On their way back to the mansion, they were stopped by many villagers who just wanted a peak at the new baby. Everybody was so excited but Tsunade was even more excited to get the baby home.

They were finally home and Mito was now fast asleep. Tsunade placed her daughter in her crib and she stood there with Jiraiya by her side, admiring the beautiful little girl that was their baby. It was a miracle, an absolute miracle for them to have had this baby. After years of arguing and hurting each other's feelings, here they were standing together as a couple, looking down at their daughter. They were a family.

* * *

**And thus, the baby is born!**

**I'm sorry I took so long to post this chapter because I know you guys were anticipating it. I hope it lived up to your expectations. I'm currently working on a new chapter for my other story 'Scattered Pieces' so if you are reading that too, expect the new chapter soon. **

**Thank you all for your continued support and I promise you that I'll try to update more often.**

**Xoxoxoxo **


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